By their "very different but equally excellent" powers combined, 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer have given Australian cinemas their best weekend since the pandemic began - and for at least one exhibitor, its best weekend ever.
With 'Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning - Part One' opening to a franchise best in Australia, and 'Barbie' and 'Oppenheimer' pre-sales reportedly going gangbusters, the mood among most exhibitors is buoyant.
While the weekend was all about the launch 'Mission: Impossible -Dead Reckoning Part One' for most cinemas, Paramount is not publicly releasing figures for the film until after its "official" premiere date on Thursday. Yet most exhibitors report a strong response.
The records smashed by doco 'John Farnham: Finding the Voice' have proven that Australians will still come out in numbers to see local stories on the big screen, and there is significant optimism among exhibitors about the commercial potential of 'Force of Nature: The Dry 2'. However, broadly the year so far has been a very slow one for Australian films at the box office.
The fifth and final instalment in the 'Indiana Jones' franchise reached no. 1 at the box office last weekend, albeit not at the heights exhibitors were hoping for.
BO Report: ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’, ‘No Hard Feelings’ boost cinemas as ‘The Flash’ dives
'Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' easily rolled to no. 1 at the box office last weekend, as the previous top title, 'The Flash', had a dramatic tumble down to fourth position behind 'Spider-Man: Across The Universe' and the debut of adult comedy 'No Hard Feelings'.
Warner Bros/DC's 'The Flash' might have snared the no. 1 spot at the box office from 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' last weekend, but its results left exhibitors wanting more.
In just two weekends, 'Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse' has already surpassed the lifetime gross of the 2018 original.