The new live action “Moana,” starring Samoan-Australian actor Catherine Laga’aia alongside Dwayne Johnson, has shot to the top of the Australian box office upon debut.
The film grossed $5.93 million for its opening weekend (Thursday, July 9th-Sunday, July 12th), beating out “Toy Story 5” which grossed $5.11 million. The fifth instalment of the beloved “Toy Story” franchise had sat at the top for the past three weeks, with a new grossed total of $37.42 million. “Minions & Monsters” moved down to third with $3.74 million, while “Evil Dead Burn” debuted in fourth with $746,ooo.
In a recent interview with Variety Australia, “Moana” director Thomas Kail hinted at the possibility of a live action “Moana 2.” “We hope that we do a job that makes people say, ‘Oh, I wonder what’s next’,” he said.
“Obsession” – which is on track to become Australia and New Zealand’s biggest horror hit in a decade – sat comfortably in fifth with a further $702,000, bringing its total to $23.92 million. Produced on a modest budget, the film has emerged as one of the year’s breakout theatrical success stories, buoyed by strong audience word-of-mouth and positive critical reception. Its extended run at the box office stands out at a time when horror titles often experience steep declines after opening weekend.
It was followed by “jackass: best and last” which brought in $625,000. While it was widely accepted that 2022’s “Jackass Forever” was the final hurrah for the famous MTV crew, the intention to celebrate the franchise’s 25th anniversary quickly turned into this latest feature film. “…I think it was someone over on their end [Paramount] that suggested, why don’t you make a greatest hits movie?,” Tremaine said. “We thought that’s a kind of weird, interesting idea, and then we decided, yeah, let’s go get the gang back together and shoot some.”
“Supergirl,” starring Australian actor Milly Alcock, fell short again, with $499,000 at the box office last weekend, to a total of $5.47 million. Despite arriving with one of the year’s biggest studio campaigns, the film launched well below expectation. A source familiar with the financials of “Supergirl” told Variety the losses will likely sit around US$80 million to US$85 million, assuming that worldwide ticket sales reach at least US$200 million.
“Disclosure Day” sat in eighth with $288,000, followed by “Dhamaal 4,” which debuted this week with $253,000. “Backrooms” rounded out the top ten with $215,000, bringing its total to $15 million.
The top 20 films brought in $18.90 million total over the weekend.