Charlie's Country was named best film and Rolf de Heer best director at the 2014 Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards presented on Tuesday night.
For the record, IF has updated the B.O. totals of the 39 Australian films and feature documentaries released in 2014.
The Australian B.O. dropped by 2.28% to a still healthy $1.074 billion in 2014 but the stats mask a worrying trend: the shrinking cinema audience.
It’s been a strong start to the year for Australian cinema with Robert Connolly’s Paper Planes soaring even higher than some pundits predicted last weekend and The Water Diviner continuing to earn tidy sums.
The critics may scoff but audiences have no trouble accepting 62-year-old Liam Neeson as an action star.
On the eve of Australia Day, Moonlight cinema will be showcasing the best in Aussie drama with a screening of Russel Crowe’s directorial debut The Water Diviner.
The final chapter of The Hobbits franchise predictably won the New Year B.O. crown at Australian cinemas but a British drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch surprised some pundits by taking second spot.
Launched on Boxing Day, Russell Crowe's The Water Diviner raked in $6.32 million in its first week at Australian cinemas, including previews, ranking as the highest-grossing Oz title of 2014.