Great Aussie hope ... The Kath & Kim Filum. Photo: RTP Films
Garry Maddox, The Age, reports
WITH at least three potential hits, last year's underwhelming box office for Australian films - except for Red Dog - is expected to improve this year.
Figures released by Screen Australia show last year's Australian releases took just $42.9 million - 3.9 per cent of the annual box office. But commercial prospects look bright for The Kath & Kim Filum, the romantic comedy Any Questions for Ben?, the Working Dog team's return to filmmaking after The Castle and The Dish, and Baz Luhrmann's star-powered The Great Gatsby.
Last year's results, dominated by Red Dog's exceptional $21.3 million, were down on the previous year's 4.5 per cent but still well above the record low of 1.3 per cent in 2004.
The acting chief executive of Screen Australia, Fiona Cameron, believes the wedding comedy A Few Best Men, shark attack horror film Bait 3D, musical The Sapphires and Ronan Keating comedy Goddess are also potential hits.
Other prospects include the Toni Collette comic drama Mental and the Sundance selection Wish You Were Here.
While Cameron expects the slate to top the 4 per cent mark this year, she won't predict a figure, citing Screen Australia's investment in culturally significant films whose impact often transcends box office results.
The Australian share of the box office has cracked 10 per cent only five times in the past 35 years, with Crocodile Dundee driving the record 23.5 per cent in 1986.
In a year when the total annual box office dipped 3 per cent to $1.094 billion, Screen Australia is citing other measures of success for Australian film, including sales to 19 territories for the sexually charged drama Sleeping Beauty after its world premiere at Cannes and 12 territories for the Tasmanian drama The Hunter after its Toronto festival debut.
The 3D cave-diving thriller Sanctum also grossed more than $100 million worldwide.
Also, the federal government agency claims 72.7 million ''downstream'' viewings for Australian films on DVD, online, pay TV and free-to-air TV, although cinema box office and international sales still largely determine financial success.
The challenge for small-scale Australian films with modest marketing budgets has only increased as the cinema business has polarised into ''events'' at both ends of the spectrum - blockbuster franchises in multiplexes and acclaimed films in arthouses.
But Red Dog's success shows how much audiences respond to even low-profile Australian films when they work creatively and are marketed strongly.
''They put together a warm, friendly, accessible script,'' Cameron says.
''Accessibility shouldn't be a dirty word.''
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