Despite a somewhat limited release Golden Globe winner for best film 1917 has exploded into cinemas with a massive average per screen of $18,625 on 257 screens which has seen it shoot to the top of the Australian box office.
To put this in perspective six other films had a wider release than 1917 which still surged to the number one spot in its first week of release.
This strong showing for the Sam Mendes‘ (Skyfall) film saw it top a strong list of contenders that included five films making over $2m, and eight over $1m this past weekend.
1917 was the only film to break into the top five this week with the film giving way being Spies in Disguise which slipped to seventh spot with $1.25m and has made $4.87m over two weeks.
Overall the Australian box office made $23.25m which represented an 11% drop on last weekend’s total. Other noteworthy films outside of the top five include:
#6 My Spy $1.128m (one week $1.128m)
#8 Frozen 2 $1.17m (seven weeks $36.93m)
#9 A Shaun The Sheep Movie: Farmageddon $ 893,751 (one week $893,751)
#10 JoJo Rabbit $761,882 (three weeks $4.89m)
#14 Cats $259,322 (three weeks $3.85m)
#1 1917 $4.78m
Following up a strong award season with a strong performance in Australian theatres the World War I epic has managed to break the $4m mark in its first week of release amongst a strong field of holiday releases.
#2 Jumanji: The Next Level $4.36m
After three weeks the film continues on its strong roll with the Boxing Day release making a total of $36.62m to date, after making an average of $8,638 on 505 screens.
#3 The Gentlemen $2.29m
The ensemble cast film led by Matthew McConaughey has held steady in third position in its second week of release after making an average of $8,808 on 261 screens, bringing its total revenue to $8.23m.
#4 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker $2.12m
The latest entry in the Star Wars franchise continues to chug along as it edges closer to the $52.95m needed to enter the Australian box office all-time top 10 with its total currently at $43.13m. In its fourth week of release, the film averaged $5,401 on 394 screens.
#5 Little Women $2.12m
After two weeks the latest rendition of the literary classic averaged $6,668 on 319 screens bringing its total to $8.68m.