Image by Andrew Cooper, via Sony Pictures.
Tarantino may make his money in shock and awe, but his box office results are as predictable as they come – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Sony Pictures) premiered at number one in the box office this week, taking $6.6 million in its first weekend over a whopping 624 screens. That’s a screen average of $10,692 per screen for Tarantino’s latest. The controversial twist ending may have shocked some viewers – but what’s more shocking is that someone finally toppled The Lion King (Walt Disney), after four weeks in the top spot.
As the school holiday bubble starts to deflate, Simba and friends dropped to second place, bringing in $2.2 million across 411 screens; that’s almost half the takings of last weekend, when the film brought in over $3.8 million on 530 screens. Still, their box office takings to date come in over $58 million so I’m sure their pride won’t be too hurt. Ahem.
Universal releases nabbed spots four, five, and six, with Fast and Furious: Hobbs & Shaw bringing in $1.7 million over 297 screens – that’s 223 screens less than last weekend. Australian baby boomer favourite Palm Beach only lost one screen, playing on 251 this weekend, but their takings certainly took a dive: down to $673,479 this weekend, from over $1.1 million last weekend. That’s a screen average of $2,683. Premiering at number 5, A Dog’s Journey made $631,324 over 245 screens. Judging by the ongoing success of The Lion King, it looks like this week’s filmgoers were cat people.
Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan (Transmission) is down from 4 to 6 in its second week, and the numbers are looking shaky. Despite gaining ten screens, the tense war film brought in $451,048, compared to $775,281, for a screen average of $1919.
As Apollo 11 gracefully exits our screens, Mission Mangal (Mindblowing Films)premiered in the eighth spot at the box office, and its star is certainly on the rise – showing on 50 screens, the fictionalised account of India’s first interplanetary mission, made a screen average of $6,190, for a debut Australian weekend taking of $309,516. The high average per screen suggests full houses and it may grow to more screens next week.
Mission Mangal also dominated the limited release charts, followed by Hong Kong-Chinese production Line Walker 2: Invisible Spy (Magnum Films). The action-packed crime drama premiered on just 15 screens – but it put those screens to good use, bringing in a thrilling screen average of $6,112, for a weekend taking of $91,676.
Midsommar (Roadshow) may have dropped from 1 to 3 on the limited release charts, and 10 to 13 in the box office, but its takings are looking strong in its second week; Ari Aster’s midnight sun shone once more on only 16 screens, but it brought in a screen average of $4992.
While Hello, Love, Goodbye dropped from second place to fifth in limited release in its second week, it’s still reaching its audience; the Filipino romance drama showed on 16 screens again, and brought in a decent $3742 screen average.
The success of Mission Mangal is only one example of Indian cinema shining in limited release this week. Premiering in fourth place in limited release is Hindi-language action thriller Batla House (Forum Films). Opening on 31 screens, the film brought in $77,087 at the box office, for a screen average of $2,487.
This week also saw the debut of Evaru (Tolly Movies), with the Telugu-language crime thriller showing on 14 screens, for a comfortable screen average of $3,792 – though Ranarangam the other Telugu-language film premiering on Aussie screens this week, didn’t do so hot. The crime action film showed on 11 screens to a screen average of $1322. Luckily for Southern Star, their Tamil-language comedy Comali (Southern Star) came into the limited release charts at 8th position, averaging a much more comfortable $3,317 across its 11 screens.
What a great week for Indian cinema in the Aussie box office – and a cheery reminder that if there’s one thing Aussie film viewers like more than cats, it’s utterly gruesome crimes.
