Box Office Report: Mick Taylor is back with a vengeance

It’s always a joy when an Australian film debuts at the top of the box office, and this past weekend was such a time. Home-grown horror sequel Wolf Creek 2, starring John Jarratt and Ryan Corr, took the #1 spot at the Australian box office over the weekend, beating out Mark Wahlberg-led war film Lone Survivor. The film took in 35% more than the original did in its opening weekend. The success of the film can be attributed to the popularity and notoriety of the original film, a solid marketing campaign, and the lack of any other horror choices at the box office. This is a big win for the Australian film industry, particularly in South Australia where the film was primarily shot.

The Wolf of Wall Street continued its incredible run by adding another million to its total. The crime comedy has now taken $17.8 million dollars in Australia and isn’t anywhere near done yet. In the week leading up to the Oscars, we can expect the film, along with other nominees 12 Years a Slave and Dallas Buyers Club to experience a small boost in the coming week.

This week sees the release of two ‘middle aged action star’ movies; 3 Days to Kill starring Kevin Costner, and Non-Stop starring everyone’s favourite middle aged action star, Liam Neeson. Neither film has been marketed very aggressively, but Neeson has experienced a career resurgence since the release of Taken a few years back, so expect Non-Stop to attract decent audiences in the coming weeks.

In the US over the past weekend, The LEGO Movie took the #1 spot for the third week in a row with $31.3 million. The animated hit has now made almost $300 million worldwide, and is sure to be a hit when it is released in Australia. A sequel has been announced this week and is expected to hit theatres in 2017. Disney’s Frozen continues its climb to $1 billion, having made $980 million since its release. It should hit that milestone within the next week.

The LEGO Movie opens in Australian cinemas on April 3rd.

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

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