Frozen tops the Box Office again, as The Railway Man breaks $5m mark
Disney movie Frozen held onto its top spot in the Australian box office this weekend, with the animation taking in $2.56 million across 380 screens.
The Book Thief starring Geoffrey Rush narrowly beat out thriller Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit bringing in $2.15 million across 250 screens compared to Jack Ryan’s $2.11 million across 267 screens.
Australian producer Ian Collie’s Saving Mr Banks, the tale of how author P.L Banks was courted by Walt Disney for 20 years for the rights to her book Mary Poppins, pulled in $1.77 million across 272 screens.
For the films fighting it out to be named Best Picture at this years Academy Awards, American Hustle won the Australian box office race taking in $688,970 across 131 screens followed by Philomena which brought in $678,765 across 131 screens. Gravity, which dominated the Australian box office at the end of last year, made $76,749 across 17 screens, while 12 Years A Slave grossed $2,502 across two screens.
The Railway Man, directed by Australia’s Jonathan Teplizkey, bought in $480,885 across 147 screens, brining the film’s total to just over $5 million after less than four weeks in release.
The memoir of Eric Lomax, a British officer captured by the Japanese at the fall of Singapore and forced to work on the Thai/Burma ‘Death’ Railway, has also grossed over £3m in the UK since its release on January 9. The film starring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman is set for release in the US later this year.
Transmission’s Richard Payten said in a statement: “Going out on Boxing Day was a big decision but we were confident that Australian audiences would respond with warmth and appreciation to this incredible true story, especially as so many have a family connection with the tragedy of the Thai/Burma railway. They have clearly done so with very strong word of mouth and the film holding well against many quality new titles coming onto the market.
“We’ve had tremendous support from our exhibition partners in this first critical stage of the release – for which we thank each and every one of them. We are now looking to strengthen results as we expand our release further into provincial and regional markets, with 65 new screens added over the coming two weeks.”
| Title (Distributor) | Weekend B/O | Screens | Total B/O |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frozen (Disney) | $2,564,465 | 380 | $27,699,584 |
| The Book Thief (Fox) | $2,158,730 | 250 | $6,226,148 |
| Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (Paramount) | $2,118,402 | 267 | $2,166,293 |
| Saving Mr. Banks (Disney) | $1,776,790 | 272 | $5,484,146 |
| 47 Ronin (Universal) | $1,773,255 | 324 | $1,773,255 |
| The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug (Wb) | $1,741,796 | 500 | $34,780,340 |
| Free Birds (Roadshow) | $1,048,715 | 268 | $3,271,597 |
| The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty (Fox) | $832,948 | 233 | $12,570,697 |
| American Hustle (Roadshow) | $688,970 | 131 | $11,286,841 |
| Philomena (Eone /hopscotch) | $678,765 | 131 | $7,041,817 |
| Walking With Dinosaurs 3d (Fox) | $603,452 | 286 | $5,117,438 |
| Anchorman 2 (Paramount) | $573,622 | 189 | $17,284,557 |
| The Railway Man (Transmission) | $480,885 | 147 | $5,025,155 |
| Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs 2 (Sony) | $375,353 | 136 | $12,055,554 |
| August: Osage County (Roadshow) | $315,167 | 196 | $3,905,469 |
| Her (Sony) | $303,876 | 32 | $384,228 |
| The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (Roadshow) | $269,229 | 103 | $39,014,369 |
| Inside Llewyn Davis (Roadshow) | $245,340 | 32 | $306,680 |
| Gravity (Wb) | $76,749 | 17 | $21,255,300 |
| Great White Shark 3d (Imax) | $38,381 | 2 | $159,592 |
Miranda Ward worked for Mumbrella from 2013 to 2017, eventually becoming deputy editor. Miranda joined Mumbrella in September 2013 from Sky News.
Linkedin
topics
box office
