Here’s what the Australian Broadcasting Corporation had to say about Australia’s first weekend in America:
“Americans chose Christmas laughs over a trip to the Australian outback with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman.
Baz Luhrmann’s much-hyped epic Australia failed to ignite much interest over a busy Thanksgiving holiday long weekend in US and Canadian theatres, with the film managing to scrape into fifth place at the North American box office with $US20 million ($30.4 million) in earnings.
Audiences instead filled cinemas showing the new Reese Witherspoon-Vince Vaughn comedy, Four Holidays. It collected a bumper $US46.7 million from Wednesday to Sunday to easily claim first place.
The uninspiring opening for Australia will likely damage the Oscar prospects for Kidman, Jackman and director-producer-screenwriter Luhrmann.
It also raises the question if the Hollywood studio backing the film, 20th Century Fox, will make money on its huge four-year investment in the project.”
That $20 million actually includes the entire Thanksgiving weekend, beginning on Thursday. Not good for Baz and friends. They’d better hope someone in Europe or Asia is interested.
