Australian Box Office Report: No stopping the Lion juggernaut, at top of ladder for third week in a row

There seems to be no stopping the Lion juggernaut.  It made $3.05m at the box office this week, and sits at no. 1 on the ladder for the third week in a row.  To date, it has made  $16.22m, and if it make over $21m, it will sit alongside Red Dog, Mad Max: Fury Road and Strictly Ballroom as some of the highest grossing Australian films to be released.

Also in the same spot as last week is Split, which again sits at no. 2 and made $2.31m at the box office.  Although overall box office takings were down this week (school holidays are well and truly behind us), the M. Night Shyamalan film managed a screen average just short of $8k this week.

A strong debut was achieved by Patriots Day, which went straight to no. 3 and earned $1.18m.  Starring Mark Wahlberg and John Goodman, the film recounts the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.  It’s a timely film, and was given a relatively positive review by us here.

Movements this week were noticeable.  XXX 3: The Return of Xander Cage dropped from 3rd last week to 5th this week, not even cracking the $1m mark it did last week.  La La Land also moved this week, though up the ladder, from no. 5 to no. 4.  This may continue to hang about in the top 5 with more positive awards buzz coming its way.

Other movements include Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, which dropped from no. 4 last week to no. 6 this week with only a fortnight in the cinemas under its belt.

On a side note, it looks as though Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is still performing pretty well.  Though released before Christmas, it still sits at no. 10, with its fellow Disney buddy Moana at no. 9. The film’s have now made over US$1b and US$555m worldwide, respectively.

Next week’s Box Office Report should give a mention to the sexy (or sexless, depending on who you talk to) Fifty Shades Darker.  Obviously this premiere ties in with Valentine’s Day next week, so expect a lot of bumping and grinding or whatever on the box office chart next week.

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

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