Box Office: Revenue down 71% as COVID-19 means no more movies

•Two films found their way into the top five

Village Roadshow, Event Hospitality & Entertainment and Hoyts have been forced to close their cinema chains following a federal government-mandated shutdown announced on Sunday, so this will be the final weekly Box Office revenue report until the shutdown is lifted.

With some cinemas across the country last week beginning to shut their doors with stricter COVID-19 policies being handed down, the Australian box office has taken a major dip in revenue after making $1.80m. The 71% decline in revenue is quite historic as the movie industry wrestles with a situation that no one saw coming (apart from a disaster movie like 2011’s Contagion).

Two films found their way into the top five, with new release The Current War and I Still Beleive both able to attract moviegoers during the quiet weekend.

The two films to drop out of the top five were foreign language films Chal Mera Putt 2 (two weeks, $585,985) and My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising (two weeks, $472,236).

#1 Bloodshot $475,906

The high octane action film has managed to survive two weeks in the top spot of the Australian box office as it managed to average $1,396 on 341 screens making it the most screened film in the country bringing its total to $2.16m.

#2 The Invisible Man $429,514

The remake of the classic black and white film has made it four straight weeks in the top two as it continues to creep along making an average of $1,665 on 258 screens bringing its total to $7.90m.

#3 Sonic the Hedgehog $161,360

In its sixth week of release, the film has managed to take advantage of the lack of new releases to one again scrape into the top five with its total now sitting at $12.08m. The film made an average of $553 on 292 screens.

#4 The Current War $146,525

The only notable new release of this weekend had an understandably slow start as the film based on the true story of Thomas Edinson’s and George Westinghouse’s war over which method of electricity that America would use finally made it to screens after an initial 2017 release was stopped due to the Harvey Weinstein incident after airing at the Toronto Film Festival. The film averaged $701 on 209 screens.

#5 I still Beleive $114,324 

The film based on Christian musician Jeremy Camp and his first wife Melissa Lynn Henning-Camp, who was diagnosed with ovarian cancer shortly before they married, averaged $834 on 137 screens in its second week of release.

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