I hope everyone has made the most of the long weekend. It’s been pretty relaxing one from my end. I’d seen most of the Easter flicks and there’s only one major release this Thursday (Battleship).
There’s a magazine published in Australia called The Weekly which regularly takes quotes from my reviews. I’d prefer to be quoted for a good film… but I have to find their extracts from my review of Wrath Of The Titans a little amusing. You can check it out here. I don’t think Sam Worthington will be too happy with me.
Anyway, onto this week’s blog and realised that I haven’t done a box-office trivia challenge in quite a while. My day job is as an accountant and so I find box-office numbers more interesting than most. I like to see which films are performing and which ones are, for use of a better word, flopping.
So put your thinking caps on and see how you go. To get the answers to these questions, you can scroll down to the bottom. You may now open your exam booklet and get started…
1. What was the highest grossing film at the Australian box-office in 2011?
(a) The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1
(b) Transformers: Dark Of The Moon
(c) Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
(d) Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part 2
2. But all of the abovementioned films are sequels which can benefit from past knowledge and publicity. Which was the highest grossing non-sequel at the Australian box-office in 2011?
(a) Bridesmaids
(b) Thor
(c) Tangled
(d) Red Dog
3. Of the 9 films nominated for best picture at the 2012 Academy Awards, which one made the most money at the Australian box-office?
(a) The Descendants
(b) The Help
(c) Midnight In Paris
(d) War Horse
4. Which was the last film to spend 4 consecutive weeks atop the box-office chart in Australia?
(a) The Smurfs
(b) Fast Five
(c) Despicable Me
(d) The Hangover: Part 2
5. Australian films contributed to what percentage of the total box-office in Australia during 2011?
(a) 4%
(b) 8%
(c) 12%
(d) 16%
6. The number of foreign language films released in cinemas has increased significantly over the past decade. Which one made the most in Australia during 2011?
(a) The Women On The 6th Floor
(b) The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest
(c) Incendies
(d) Potiche
7. With so many big blockbusters being released, it’s tough for any film to stay in cinemas and find an audience through good word of mouth. Of the 2011 releases, which film spent the most number of consecutive weeks inside the top 20 at the Australian box-office?
(a) Bridesmaids
(b) Mrs Carey’s Concert
(c) Red Dog
(d) Hugo
8. What was the highest grossing animated flick in Australia for 2011?
(a) The Adventures Of Tin Tin
(b) The Smurfs
(c) Tangled
(d) Cars 2
9. Based on research from Screen Australia, who goes to the movies most often in Australia?
(a) Males
(b) Females
10. What is the highest grossing film of all time in Australian cinemas?
(a) Titanic
(b) The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
(c) The Dark Knight
(d) Avatar
Answers…
1. (d) Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows: Part 2. It obliterated the competition and grossed more than $52m. The next best was Transformers: Dark Of The Moon with a “mere” $37m.
2. (a) Bridesmaids. People have different tastes when it comes to comedy but Bridesmaids managed to hit the right notes with a LOT of people. It was in the top 10 for an amazing 9 weeks and finished with $27m. Not bad for a comedy with a predominantly female cast. Tangled was the closest pursuer with $22m.
3. (a) The Descendants. It pulled in $15m in Australia which was well ahead of Hugo and The Help who were next best with $10m. It seems that Aussie audiences have different tastes to those in the United States where The Help took in more than double that of The Descendants.
4. (c) Despicable Me. The other 3 films all came out during 2011 but could only manage 3 consecutive weeks atop of the box-office chart. Despicable Me was released back in September 2010 and remains the last film in Australia to spend 4 straight weeks on top.
5. (a) 4%. Yep, that’s it. Australian films grossed just $43m of the total box-office of $1.09b. We can thank Red Dog for doing a lot of the work. It reeled in 50% (or $21.3m) of the total take for locally made films.
6. (b) The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest. Given the popularity of the books, it should come as no surprise to see it as the most popular foreign language film in Australia during 2011 with total of $2.4m. It wasn’t released until December 2011 but The Women On The 6th Floor gave it a run by pulling in $1.7m.
7. (c) Red Dog. To use a saying - if you build it, they will come. In other words, if you make a good movie, people will eventually see it. Red Dog was the big local success story during 2011 and spent a phenomenal 17 weeks inside the top 20 at the box-office. Most the blockbusters were in and out in a flash but Red Dog went the distance. Worthy of an honourable mention is the Australian documentary Mrs Carey’s Concert which also spent 12 weeks inside the top 20.
8. (c) Tangled. It wasn’t the strongest year for animated films but Tangled narrowly took the honours in Australia by reeling in $23m. The Smurfs and Cars 2 made $21m with Kung Fu Panda 2 not far behind on $20m.
9. (b) Females. They account for 53% of all cinema goers. It provides plenty of food for thought when you consider how few films are directed by women and how few feature a woman in the leading role.
10. (d) Avatar. The size of Avatar’s box-office continues to astound me. It made $115.6m in Australia. Titanic is next best with $57.7m. Do the math. Not only is Avatar the highest grossing film in Australian box-office history, it has made more than DOUBLE the film which is in second place. Records are meant to be broken and there’s always the benefit of inflation… but you’d have to think Avatar will be on top for a long while to come.