Drive-in cinemas in Adelaide and Heddon Greta near Newcastle resumed trading last Friday, drawing big crowds, as a survey of more than 20,000 Australians showed 98 per cent look forward to cinemas re-opening.
The floodgates opened last weekend with more than a dozen new releases led by 'The Personal History of David Copperfield', plus several re-issues as more cinemas resumed trading.
In the pre-COVID-19 world, 'Where'd You Go Bernadette?' a drama starring Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup, Kristen Wiig and newcomer Emma Nelson, was launched in the US last year by United Artists Releasing, playing widely on more than 2,400 screens.
Studiocanal's road rage thriller 'Unhinged' was the top choice again for cinemagoers in its second weekend while R&R Films' 'Black Water: Abyss', director Andrew Traucki’s sequel to his 2007 cult-horror 'Black Water', had a limited release in Oz and the US.
In the normal, pre-COVID-19 era, Christopher Nolan's international espionage thriller 'Tenet' would have been released on 350-plus screens, potentially grossing as much or more than his last two films, 'Dunkirk' and 'Interstellar'.
Exhibitors are anticipating a blockbuster opening this Thursday, even with caps on seating capacity, for Christopher Nolan’s 'Tenet' after a sizable turnout for paid previews last weekend.
The prolonged Australian box office drought has broken thanks to Christopher Nolan's 'Tenet', which proves audiences are willing and able to return to cinemas.
Warner Bros' 'Tenet' reigned in its second weekend while Disney's 'The New Mutants' opened meekly as the long, slow road to recovery for Australian cinemas continues.