Well it looks like you just can’t keep those pesky teenagers away from the cinema, as young adult adaptation The Fault in Our Stars has topped the Australian box office chart again over the past weekend. The novel is a publishing phenomenon and fans are clearly loving the film. To be fair, Fault has received very strong reviews as both a novel and a film, and is pretty much the anti-Twilight; it’s a story for young adults that has realistic characters and situations, and gives them strong role models to look up to. The film is likely to remain a heart-breaking favourite for years to come.
The second spot was taken by another weekend of advanced screening for Dreamworks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon 2. Audiences are hungry for the continuing adventures of Hiccup and Toothless, and it doesn’t hurt either that the film is fantastic. The film opened in the US over the weekend, taking in US$49.45 million at the box office. That’s higher than the debut of the original, but the film was beaten by the US$57.07 million opening of 22 Jump Street. But with no other major family films opening any time soon, Dragon should soar in weeks to come. Tom Cruise’s thrilling sci-fi pic Edge of Tomorrow fell to third place this weekend, and was followed by Disney’s Maleficent. The major debut for the week, Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore’s family comedy Blended opened in fifth place, suggesting that audiences seem to be tiring of Sandler’s schtick.
| # | Film Title | Distributor | Box Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | THE FAULT IN OUR STARS | FOX | $2,438,860 |
| 2 | HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 | FOX | $2,170,106 |
| 3 | EDGE OF TOMORROW | ROADSHOW | $1,773,797 |
| 4 | MALEFICENT | WALT DISNEY | $1,733,704 |
| 5 | BLENDED | WARNER BROS. | $1,315,202 |
| 6 | X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST | FOX | $1,230,901 |
| 7 | A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST | UNIVERSAL | $639,249 |
| 8 | GRACE OF MONACO | ENTERTAINMENT ONE | $333,830 |
| 9 | BAD NEIGHBOURS | UNIVERSAL | $312,173 |
| 10 | THE TRIP TO ITALY | MADMAN | $299,930 |
This week sees the release of two hotly-anticipated sequels, 22 Jump Street and the official release of How to Train Your Dragon 2. 2012’s 21 Jump Street is one of the most popular comedies in recent years and has boosted Jonah Hill’s career while redefining co-star Channing Tatum’s. The sequel sees the guys sent undercover as college students in order to solve another drug case. Reviews have been incredibly positive so far, indicating that fans of the original are in for a real treat. Meanwhile, How to Train Your Dragon 2 has been doing very well in its advanced screenings over the past two weekends and is set to get even bigger this week. Both films will be extremely popular this weekend, but considering that it isn’t school holidays yet, Jump Street will likely take the weekend over Dragon. However, both films will have very strong legs as positive word of mouth spreads.
All figures from The Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia and Box Office Mojo.
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