Every week we dissect the good, the bad, and the bombs of the Aussie box office world. No talk of box office would be complete without mention of the US, so we’ll also take a look at what’s hitting big, what’s not, and where our refined Aussie movie palates differ from our blockbuster loving American brethren. Let’s dig in…
This weekend, it was all Bond, all the time. But how big did Spectre soar?
AUSTRALIAN BOX OFFICE – NOV 12-15
Source: Urban Cinefile
Bond-ing With The Audience: It was always going to be Number 1, it was just a case of how big it would be. In the end Spectre was massive, capturing $11.31 million of the overall weekend’s $16.68 million in takings. It came in a shade under the opening of Skyfall ($12.87 million, -12%), and will probably not top it’s predecessor in overall box office, but it’s another giant hit for a franchise that is 53 years old and still going strong.
Treasure trove: Firing into the Top 5 is a new Hindi language film that is making a splash worldwide. Prem Ratan Dhan Payo (translation: Receive A Treasure Called Love) released just in time for Diwali, the Hindu Festival Of Lights, launches in Australia with $600k from just 38 screens (!) for a $16k screen average, which rivals main man Bond.
And The Rest: With Bond taking most of the pie this weekend, the rest were forced to fight for what was left. Most dropped between 50 and 60% week on week, with the exception of that plucky Dressmaker, which withstood the Spectre influx to sashay away with another $2 million in 2nd place. After 3 weeks, The Dressmaker has racked up $11.5 million, well on it’s way to being the biggest local film of the year and showing no sign of stopping soon.
Over in the U.S of A, a trio of newcomers attempted to find some scraps around the table as Spectre and The Peanuts Movie chowed down.
U.S BOX OFFICE – NOV 13-15
Source: Box Office Mojo
Still Firing: The one-two punch of Spectre and Snoopy delivered the goods once again this weekend. Spectre dropped a respectable 52% to $33.6 million, bringing it’s US total to $128.9 million after two weeks, whilst Peanuts did a shade better, dropping 45% to $24 million for a $82.3 million total.
Like Not Love: Doing the best of the newbies, holiday movie Love The Coopers inspired some warm fuzzy feelings, but not a whole lot of outright love. In a tough landscape with two big behemoths in the way, it did as best as it could have been expected to do, sliding into 3rd with $8.3 million.
The 5th: The 33, based on the story of the Chilean mine disaster, might have missed it’s moment as it tunneled into 5th place with a less than stellar $5.7 million. These true life stories are a hard sell sometimes, because everybody is captivated at the time that it’s happening, but they are often not willing to revisit those stories again after some time. I wouldn’t expect this to get a big release locally.
Up next week, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 aims to take the franchise out on a high note, and Nicole Kidman and Julia Roberts team for the drama The Secret In Their Eyes.
So there you go folks, any surprises? Everything pan out just as you suspected? Hit us up in the comments and let us know what you’re enjoying at the multiplex. Also, if there’s anything you’d like to see us cover in the world of box office, speak up and let your opinion be known!