Australian films are certain to sail past $70 million at the national B.O. next week helped by The Dressmaker.
Through last Sunday the feature films and docs released in 2015 plus holdovers had amassed $67.2 million, according to the MPDAA.
As IF reported, Australian films had already surpassed the all-time box office record of $63.4 million set in 2001.
With a hefty ad spend and an extensive publicity campaign orchestrated by Universal Pictures and mostly positive reviews in the lead-up to the Thursday launch, Jocelyn Moorhouse's dramedy is sure to propel the total past $70 million.
The film starring Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, Liam Hemsworth, Sarah Snook and Hugo Weaving is opening at 284 locations.
The MPDAA’s $67.2 million tally does not include Strangerland, which had a short theatrical release after its Sydney Film Festival premiere and grossed $100,000, according to Transmission.
The market share of Australian films is running at about 6.8 per cent with national takings at around $970 million, so, overall, 2015 is a far stronger year than 2014’s lowly $26.1 million, a market share of 2.4 per cent.
In 2001 the market share was 7.8 per cent. If the 2001 total was adjusted for inflation then 2015 would not be a record in real terms but the market share is a consistent barometer.
The all-time record share, according to Screen Australia, is 23.5 per cent in 1986, thanks primarily to Crocodile Dundee and Malcolm.
Click here for full MPDAA chart.
The top 10 Australian films for 2015 (excluding The Water Diviner's 2014 earnings) are:
1. Mad Max: Fury Road: $21.66 million
2. The Water Diviner: $10.18 million
3. Oddball: $10.1 million
4. Paper Planes $9.65 million
5. Last Cab to Darwin: $7.26 million
6. Blinky Bill: The Movie: $2.78 million
7. That Sugar Film: $1.7 million
8. Holding the Man: $1.2 million
9. Ruben Guthrie: $422,000
10 Manny Lewis: $413,000
Source: MPDAA