Russell Crowe’s “The Water Diviner” has become the top grossing local film of 2014 in its native Australia.
The film, about a father returning to Turkey where his sons were involved in some of the most deadly fighting of WWI, was released on Dec. 26 and had scored A$5.65 million (US$4.61 million) by the end of Dec. 31.
It overtook “Wolf Creek 2” which had been the previous top scoring title of 2014 with A$4.7 million (US$3.84 million), and also “The Railway Man,” which had been a December 2013 release, scoring A$5.5 million in 2014 and A$7.3 million (US$5.96 million) in total.
Crowe stars in and directed the film.
As of Jan. 4, 2015, “The Water Diviner had a total to A$8.4 million (US$6.85 million), according to distributor Entertainment One.
Last year was a dismal one for Australian films, with a number of high profile flops and only four films exceeding A$1 million.
Major disappointments included “Tracks,” “Predestination,” “Felony,” Robert Pattinson-starring Cannes title “The Rover,” and “These Final Hours.”
The year is expected to show gross box office down from 2013’s A$1.1 billion (US$898 million) total and Australian market share at below 3%.
Official figures from the Motion Pictures Distributors Association of Australia will be published towards the end of the month.
