Australian Box Office Report: Hidden Figures sits sky high on ladder for 2nd week in a row

Despite not winning anything of its three Oscar Nominations, Hidden Figures still topped the week’s box office ladder, earning $2.75m. Sitting in the top spot for the 2nd week in a row is a good place for this film to be in, as people find out more and more about the three women involved in the NASA space program in its infancy, particularly in a time when women, let alone African American women, were so undervalued in all facets of American life.

Whilst Oscar host Jimmy Kimmel turned Matt Damon into his personal punching bag for the ceremony (at one point, Damon appeared on stage with bromantic partner in crime, Ben Affleck, where they were introduced as “Ben Affleck and Guest”), Damon’s action film, The Great Wall, actually climbed the ladder this week, working its way from no. 2 to no. 3, earning $1.61m at the box office.

Movements between nos. 2 and 3 at the box office this week were noticeable. Aussie production Lion, where both Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman were nominated for their performances, moved up the ladder from no. 4 to no. 3, earning $1.51m. It’s now on an extra 33 screens in Australia, although it disappointingly did not win a bloody thing at the Oscars.

Last week’s no. 2 flick (and previous no. 1 flick), Fifty Shades Darker, now sits at no. 4 on the ladder, bringing in $1.42m. Whilst it wasn’t nominated for anything (like, what?) the film has made $16m since it premiered in cinemas.

T2: Trainspotting has moved from no. 6 in previews last week to no. 5 this week in wider release, earning $982k. The original movie was nominated for best screenplay in 1997, so time will tell whether it will get an Oscar nomination in 2018. We gave it a four out of five, and the response to the much anticipated sequel has been overwhelmingly positive.

Ironically, nothing in the top 5 this week did well at the Oscars, or were even considered. However big winner of Best Picture, Moonlight, sits at no. 16 on the box office ladder in Australia and has taken in $1m so far since it opened last month. Fake news winner, La La Land, has appeared on our reports but now currently sits at no. 9, with 6 Oscar awards under its belt, and a total box office haul to date of $18.99m. Expect an extra push on both films in the week ahead in light of their awards haul.

All figures from The Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia and Box Office Mojo.

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