`Quantum of Solace` finishes #4 at Australian box-office 2008

13-Jan-2009 • Quantum Of Solace

Australians spent $946 million on cinema tickets last year, making it the highest grossing year on record. Box office revenue increased by 6 per cent on 2007 and 4 per cent on the previous best year, 2004, according to figures released by the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia (MPDAA) - reports ABC.

Superhero flicks, action blockbusters, light-hearted comedies, animations and Will Smith films all featured in the top 10 movies of the year.

Fans flocked to see Heath Ledger in his last completed film, The Dark Knight, making it the highest grossing film of the year with $45.7 million. It also secured the sixth position on the chart of the highest grossing films of all time in Australia.

The ABBA-inspired Mamma Mia was the second most popular film in the country, notching up $31.7 million in ticket sales.

Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, the latest James Bond caper Quantum Of Solace and the big screen adaptation of Sex And The City rounded out the top five.

Daniel Craig's second outing as 007 was released on November 19th in the country - the latest of those at the top of the table.

Homegrown epic Australia was the only local film to make the top 10, coming in at number six with box office takings of $26.9 million to date. It is now director Baz Luhrmann's most successful film in Australia, surpassing Moulin Rouge.

Hollywood star Will Smith proved a favourite with cinemagoers, scoring two movies in the top 10 - I Am Legend and Hancock.

MPDAA chairman Stephen Basil-Jones says ticket sales of almost a billion dollars prove the resilience of the film industry.

"2008 was a record year at the box office for the Australian film industry and the positive factor underlining this record is that it was driven by a broad range of films that appealed to the young and the old and to males and females alike," he said.

"Despite the current economic climate, history has shown that we can look forward to a very positive 2009 and another great year where people choose to escape to the movies for great value-for-money entertainment."