This list charts the most successful films at
cinemas
A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall (Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...
in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
by
box office
A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicke ...
sales in
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar (sign: $; code: AUD) is the currency of Australia, including its external territories: Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Norfolk Island. It is officially used as currency by three independent Pacific Island s ...
s. An overview of the top-earning films and record-holders is provided, as well as the highest-grossing Australian productions.
Highest-grossing films
The following is a list of the highest-grossing films in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. The list is topped by
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post-New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability w ...
's ''
Avatar
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...
'' (2009) which surpassed his ''
Titanic
RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...
'' (1997) to take the local record. ''
Crocodile Dundee
''Crocodile Dundee'' (stylized as ''"Crocodile" Dundee'' in the U.S.) is a 1986 action comedy film set in the Australian Outback and in New York City. It stars Paul Hogan as the weathered Mick Dundee, and American actress Linda Kozlowski as rep ...
'' (1986) is the highest-grossing Australian film with a gross of A$47.7 million.
:''Background colour indicates films currently in cinemas
Highest-grossing film by year
Previous record holders
Highest-grossing Australian productions
The following is a list of the highest-grossing Australian films at the Australian box office. ''
Crocodile Dundee
''Crocodile Dundee'' (stylized as ''"Crocodile" Dundee'' in the U.S.) is a 1986 action comedy film set in the Australian Outback and in New York City. It stars Paul Hogan as the weathered Mick Dundee, and American actress Linda Kozlowski as rep ...
'' has remained the highest-grossing Australian film for —and that's ''without'' factoring in inflation.
Notes
Previous Australian record holders
Other popular Australian films
High grossing Australian films from earlier decades include:
*1900s – ''
The Story of the Kelly Gang
''The Story of the Kelly Gang'' is a 1906 Australian bushranger film that traces the exploits of 19th-century bushranger and outlaw Ned Kelly and his gang. It was directed by Charles Tait and shot in and around the city of Melbourne. The origin ...
'' (1906) (gross £20,000)
*1910s – ''
The Fatal Wedding
''The Fatal Wedding'' is a play by Theodore Kremer and a 1911 Australian silent film directed by Raymond Longford based on the melodrama, which he and Lottie Lyell had toured around Australia. '' (1911) (£18,000), ''
The Life Story of John Lee, or The Man They Could Not Hang'' (1912) (£20,000),
''
The Martyrdom of Nurse Cavell
''The Martyrdom of Nurse Cavell'' is a 1916 Australian silent film about the execution of nurse Edith Cavell during World War I.
Although one of the most popular Australian silent movies ever made, it is considered a lost film.
Synopsis
The st ...
'' (1915) (£25,000)
*1920s – ''
For the Term of His Natural Life
''For the Term of His Natural Life'' is a story written by Marcus Clarke and published in '' The Australian Journal'' between 1870 and 1872 (as ''His Natural Life''). It was published as a novel in 1874 and is the best known novelisation of life ...
'' (1927) (over £40,000)
*1930s – ''
On Our Selection
''On Our Selection'' (1899) is a series of stories written by Australian author Steele Rudd, the pen name of Arthur Hoey Davis, in the late 1890s, featuring the characters Dad and Dave Rudd.
The original edition of the book was illustrated by ...
'' (1932) (£60,000),
''
The Silence of Dean Maitland
''The Silence of Dean Maitland'' is an 1886 novel by Maxwell Gray (the pen name of Mary Gleed Tuttiett). Set in a fictionalized Isle of Wight, particularly around Calbourne, it concerns an ambitious clergyman who accidentally kills the father o ...
'' (1934) (£50,000)
*1940s – ''
Forty Thousand Horsemen
''Forty Thousand Horsemen'' (aka ''40,000 Horsemen'') is a 1940 Australian war film directed by Charles Chauvel. The film tells the story of the Australian Light Horse (mounted rifleman as distinct from cavalry) which operated in the desert at t ...
'' (1940) (£130,000),
''
Smithy'' (1946) (over £50,000),
''
The Overlanders'' (1946) (£250,000),
''
Sons of Matthew
''Sons of Matthew'' is a 1949 Australian film directed and produced and co-written by Charles Chauvel. The film was shot in 1947 on location in Queensland, Australia, and the studio sequences in Sydney. ''Sons of Matthew'' took 18 months to comp ...
'' (1949)
*1950s – ''
Walk Into Paradise
''Walk Into Paradise'' (also known as ''Walk Into Hell'') is a 1956 French-Australian international co-production adventure film directed by Lee Robinson and Marcello Pagliero and starring Chips Rafferty and Françoise Christophe. It was sho ...
'' (1956)
See also
*
Lists of highest-grossing films
The following are lists of high-grossing films.
Worldwide grosses
* List of highest-grossing films
** List of highest-grossing non-English films
** List of highest-grossing puppet films
** List of highest-grossing R-rated films
** List of high ...
Notes
External links
MPDAA Historical Box Office Top 10 Lists''Film Victoria — Australian Films at the Australian Box Office''
References
{{Cinema of Australia
Australian film-related lists
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...