Martin Scorsese’s crime comedy The Wolf of Wall Street has come out on top of the Australian box office chart for the second weekend in a row with $3.75 million. The film seems to be connecting with Australian audiences, particularly those in their 20s and 30s. Last week’s major new release, Oscar hopeful 12 Years a Slave, managed a $1.16 million opening, which is impressive given the films difficult subject matter. Expect both films to hang around for a while in the lead up to the Oscars on March 2nd. The Book Thief and animated juggernaut Frozen are still doing decent business weeks after being released. Also hanging on for longer than expected is Judi Dench drama Philomena, which has clearly been given a well-deserved boost by its Oscar nomination for Best Picture and Best Actress.
|
FILM
|
DISTRIBUTOR
|
BOX OFFICE
|
1
|
The Wolf of Wall Street
|
Roadshow
|
$3,749,908
|
2
|
12 Years a Slave
|
Icon
|
$1,159,222
|
3
|
The Book Thief
|
Fox
|
$1,095,732
|
4
|
Frozen
|
Walt Disney
|
$775,956
|
5
|
Saving Mr. Banks
|
Walt Disney
|
$700,956
|
6
|
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones
|
Paramount
|
$693,349
|
7
|
Philomena
|
EOne /Hopscotch
|
$677,284
|
8
|
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
|
Paramount
|
$570,382
|
9
|
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
|
Warner Bros
|
$514,195
|
10
|
47 Ronin
|
Universal
|
$475,163
|
There are four major releases coming to theatres this week. The first is the remake of the 80’s action classic RoboCop.The film stars Joel Kinnaman as the titular hero, with Gary Oldman and Samuel L. Jackson providing veteran support. Next is comedy Last Vegas, which stars the impressive quartet of Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Robert DeNiro and Kevin Kline. The film should do quite well with mature audiences looking for something light-hearted. Also opening are Jason Reitman’s Labor Day starring Kate Winslet and the conveniently timed release Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom starring Idris Elba.
All figures from The Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia and Box Office Mojo.
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