MEDIA RELEASE COURTESY OF: SCREEN AUSTRALIA

The 418 films screened in Australian cinemas in 2009 grossed $1.09 billion, making last year’s total box office the highest on record.

Of those films, 50 were Australian, accounting for $54.8 million or 5.0 per cent of the total, according to Screen Australia analysis of Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia (MPDAA) data. This is the highest number of Australian films to be screened annually in over 25 years and also marks the greatest domestic share since 2001, when a combination of Moulin Rouge, Lantana, The Man Who Sued God and Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles took the Australian earnings to $64.4 million (7.8 per cent).

Mao’s Last Dancer was the top-grossing Australian film in 2009, with Bruce Beresford’s adaptation of Li Cunxin’s best-selling memoir achieving $15.0 million over the last three months of the year. Baz Luhrmann’s Australia followed, cementing its position as the second highest grossing Australian film of all time by adding a further $10.6 million to its cumulative box office total of $37.6 million. The science fiction feature Knowing directed by Alex Proyas placed third with $7.6 million. Charlie & Boots claimed fourth position taking $3.9 million followed by Warwick Thornton’s critically acclaimed feature debut Samson & Delilah which grossed $3.2 million at the Australian box office.

“Australian audiences embraced the diversity of stories produced by Australian filmmakers in 2009. Reports show that 1.4 million more Australians went to the cinema to see Australian films in 2009 than 2008 – a 45 per cent increase on the previous year,” said Ruth Harley, Screen Australia Chief Executive. “The top five films provide a snapshot of the impressive array of genres on offer in 2009 across all release categories, from the confronting, yet ultimately uplifting, drama depicted in Samson & Delilah and Mao’s Last Dancer, to the romance of Australia, the laughter of Charlie & Boots and the special effect–driven action of Knowing.”

“Cinema is a hit-driven industry,” Dr Harley continued, “and while box office is a lead indicator of a film’s performance, it is important to note that it represents just one way in which audiences engage with Australian content.

“Our Research Unit has been analysing case studies of films over their entire first-release life cycle. Kokoda, for example, which took $3.2 million at the box office in 2006, recorded approximately 316,000 admissions. The film went on to achieve in excess of 1.3 million viewings in the two and a half years from cinema release to first free-to-air television broadcast. Cinema admissions accounted for just 24 per cent of these viewings. But this proportion of cinema admissions varies depending on the title. Footy Legends which achieved just under one million viewings provides another example. Cinema accounted for only 6 per cent of viewings of this film, with a higher proportion of viewings coming from subscription and free-to-air television broadcasts.

“It’s a high priority for Screen Australia in 2010 to better understand downstream viewings as we refine a new range of measures to reflect audience engagement with Australian screen production,” Dr Harley concluded.

Box office facts and figures:

In October 2009, Screen Australia released analysis of data from the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia (MPDAA) exploring the release strategies applied to Australian films and their performance relative to films released from other regions.

This analysis included the calendar years 2005–08, plus 2009 up to 6 October. It reported films released in a particular year as opposed to the number of films screened, as seen in the snapshot provided. The earlier report can be downloaded from Screen Australia’s website.

2009 results:

The 50 Australian films screening in 2009 earned $54.8 million during the year, representing 5.0 per cent of the total box office, up on the five-year average of 4.0 per cent.

Based on an average ticket price of $11.99, admissions rose by 44.7 per cent to 4.6 million, over one million more than the five-year average of 3.4 million.

Australian films with Limited (up to 20 prints) and Specialty release strategies (up to 100 prints) earned 17.8 per cent and 13.3 per cent of the box office in these release categories.

Five Australian films screening during the year had releases wider than 100 prints. These films accounted for 71.5 per cent of the total box office earned by Australian films in 2009. This included the 2009 earnings of the Blockbuster release Australia.