The Australian underwater thriller Sanctum opened this week to $1.59m in box office receipts, a disappointing result given its high profile and inflated 3D ticket prices. It lost out to Darren Arnonofsky’s Black Swan, which held onto top spot with an impressive third week haul of $1.83m. The Russell Crowe thriller The Next Three Days and Dwayne Johnson vehicle Faster didn’t make much of a splash in their debut weekend, both reaping under $1m in ticket sales. Last of the new releases, Stephen Frear’s British comedy Tamara Drewe couldn’t crack $150,000, with fewer screens being a contributing factor.
Joining the ranks of the top 100 highest grossing films in Australia is the regal drama The King’s Speech, which despite opening on Boxing Day last year, was the third biggest earner over the weekend. Its total haul now sits at $20.4 million; not bad for a film that only cost $14m.
Valentine’s Day should see audiences flock to Ivan Reitman’s rom-com No Strings Attached, but Danny Boyle’s Oscar nominated 127 Hours and Clint Eastwood’s supernatural drama Hereafter should still put up an interesting fight.
AUSTRALIAN WEEKEND BOX OFFICE RESULTS: 3-6 FEBRUARY 2011
Film Title, Distributor, Box Office ($)
1. BLACK SWAN, FOX, 1,829,403
2. JAMES CAMERON PRESENTS SANCTUM, UNIVERSAL, 1,595,021
3. THE KING’S SPEECH, PARAMOUNT/TRANSMISSION, 1,506,753
4. TRUE GRIT, PARAMOUNT, 1,504,113
5. THE GREEN HORNET, SONY PICTURES, 952,102
6. THE NEXT THREE DAYS, ROADSHOW, 898,797
7. THE FIGHTER, ROADSHOW, 776,496
8. YOGI BEAR, WARNER BROS, 728,324
9. FASTER, SONY PICTURES, 672,795
10. HOW DO YOU KNOW, SONY PICTURES, 636,353
Source: MPDAA
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