This list charts the most successful films at cinemas in Australia by box office sales in Australian dollars. An overview of the top-earning films and record-holders is provided, as well as the highest-grossing Australian productions.

Highest-grossing films

The following is a list of the highest-grossing films in Australia. The list is topped by James Cameron's Avatar (2009) which surpassed his Titanic (1997) to take the local record. Crocodile Dundee (1986) is the highest-grossing Australian film with a gross of A$47.7 million.

Background colour   indicates films currently in cinemas
Rank Title Year Gross (A$)[1]
1 Avatar 2009 118,985,016
2 Star Wars: The Force Awakens 2015 94,052,876
3 Avatar: The Way of Water 2022 93,670,000
4 Top Gun: Maverick 2022 93,332,040
5 Barbie 2023 85,740,000
6 Avengers: Endgame 2019 84,174,373
7 Spider-Man: No Way Home 2021 81,748,394
8 The Lion King 2019 64,138,378
9 Avengers: Infinity War 2018 62,024,642
10 Titanic 1997 58,702,677

Highest-grossing film by year

Year Title Gross (A$m)[2]
1972 The Godfather 2.0R[3]
1973 Alvin Purple 4.7[4]
1974 The Sting 4.4R[3]
1975 Jaws 4.8R[3]
1976 The Towering Inferno 3.9R[3]
1977 The Spy Who Loved Me 2.1R[3]
1978 Star Wars 6.4R[3]
1979 The Muppet Movie 2.0R[3]
1980 Kramer vs Kramer 3.1R[3]
1981 Gallipoli 4.1R[3]
1982 The Man from Snowy River 7.8R[3]
1983 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 11.4R[3]
1984 Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom 4.2R[3]
1985 Beverly Hills Cop 4.1R[3]
1986 Crocodile Dundee 40.8
1987 Beverly Hills Cop II 11.4
1988 Crocodile Dundee II 24.9
1989 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 15.8
1990 Pretty Woman 26.1
1991 Dances with Wolves 19.2
1992 Strictly Ballroom 18.7
1993 Jurassic Park 31.7
1994 The Lion King 24.7
1995 Batman Forever 17.9
1996 Independence Day 29.3
1997 Men in Black 22.7
1998 Titanic 47.3
1999 Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace 38.7
2000 Gladiator 30.7
2001 Shrek 32.1
2002 Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones 33.8
2003 Finding Nemo 37.1
2004 Shrek 2 50.4
2005 Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith 35.5
2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest 38.1
2007 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 35.5
2008 The Dark Knight 45.8
2009 Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince 40.6
2010 Avatar 75.3
2011 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 52.6
2012 The Avengers 53.3
2013 Iron Man 3 39.2
2014 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 32.8
2015 Star Wars: The Force Awakens 62.8
2016 Finding Dory 48.6
2017 Beauty and the Beast 48.0
2018 Avengers: Infinity War 61.9
2019 Avengers: Endgame 84.2
2020 Jumanji: The Next Level 28.0
2021 Spider-Man: No Way Home 55.3
2022 Top Gun: Maverick 93.1
2023 Barbie 87.0[5]

RDistributor rental for entire run

Previous record holders

Timeline of the highest-grossing film record
Year Title Record setting gross
(A$)
1940 Gone With the Wind 3,426,000R[6]
1965 The Sound of Music 4,437,000R[6]
1975 Jaws 4,620,000R[6]
1977 Star Wars 6,200,000R[6]
1982 The Man from Snowy River 7,821,420R[3][7]
1983 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 11,424,768R[3]
1986 Crocodile Dundee 47,707,598[8]
(19,772,232R)[3]
1998 Titanic 57,713,717[1]
2009 Avatar 115,781,489[1]

RDistributor rental.

Highest-grossing Australian productions

The following is a list of the highest-grossing Australian films at the Australian box office. Crocodile Dundee has remained the highest-grossing Australian film for 38 years, even without factoring in inflation.

Rank Title Year of
release		 Budget
(A$)		 Australian gross
(A$)[8]		 Worldwide gross
(US$)
1 Crocodile Dundee 1986 $11,500,000 $47,707,598 $328,203,506[9]
2 Australia 2008 $200,000,000 (US$130,000,000,
US$78,000,000 after tax incentives)[10]		 $37,555,757 $211,342,221[11]
3 Babe 1995 $30,000,000 $36,797,861 $254,134,910[12]
4 Elvis 2022 $120,000,000 $33,486,309[13] $285,781,077[14]
5 Happy Feet 2006 $132,740,000 $31,786,593 $384,335,608[15]
6 The Lego Movie* 2014 $60,000,000 $29,834,461[16] $468,060,692[17]
7 Lion 2016 $15,000,000 $29,563,329 $140,312,928[18]
8 Moulin Rouge! 2001 $52,000,000 $27,765,415 $179,213,434[19]
9 The Great Gatsby 2013 $105,000,000 $27,385,977 $353,641,895[20]
10 Peter Rabbit 2018 $50,000,000 $26,760,008 $351,266,433[21]
Films marked as * are not classified as Australian by Screen Australia

Previous Australian record holders

Timeline of the highest-grossing Australian film record[4]
Year Title Record setting gross
(A$)
1966 They're a Weird Mob 2,417,000
1973 Alvin Purple 4,720,000
1975 Picnic at Hanging Rock 5,120,000
1979 Mad Max 5,355,490
1981 Gallipoli 11,740,000
1982 The Man from Snowy River 17,228,160
1986 Crocodile Dundee 47,707,598

Other popular Australian films

High grossing Australian films from earlier decades include:

See also

Notes

External links

References

  1. ^ a b c "Cinema Industry Trends Top 50 Films of All Time". Screen Australia. Retrieved 7 October 2021.
  2. ^ "No. 1 Film at the Australian Box Ofiice Since 1972". Screen Australia. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "'Croc' still tops shifting Oz Aussie b.o. sweeps". Variety. 2 May 1990. p. 234.
  4. ^ a b "Film Victoria — Australian Films at the Australian Box Office" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  5. ^ "2023 Australian Yearly Box Office Results". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 3 January 2024. US$58.7m
  6. ^ a b c d "All-time Aussie Rental Champs". Variety. 6 May 1981. p. 56.
  7. ^ "Hoyts Proudly Announces The Man From Snowy River (advertisement)". Variety. 15 December 1982. p. 18.
  8. ^ a b "Top 100 Australian Feature Films of All Time". Screen Australia. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  9. ^ Crocodile Dundee at Box Office Mojo
  10. ^ McClintock, Pamela (24 November 2008). "Hollywood stuffs Thanksgiving slate". Variety. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  11. ^ Australia at Box Office Mojo
  12. ^ Babe at Box Office Mojo
  13. ^ "Top 5 Australian films (2022)". Screen Australia. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  14. ^ "Elvis (2022)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  15. ^ Happy Feet at Box Office Mojo
  16. ^ "Top 50 Films Each Year - 2014". Screen Australia. Retrieved 28 October 2021.
  17. ^ The Lego Movie at Box Office Mojo
  18. ^ Lion at Box Office Mojo
  19. ^ Moulin Rouge at Box Office Mojo
  20. ^ The Great Gatsby at Box Office Mojo
  21. ^ Peter Rabbit at Box Office Mojo
  22. ^ a b c "£100,000 SPENT". The Advocate. Burnie, Tasmania. 5 January 1928. p. 6. Retrieved 5 May 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  23. ^ "AUSTRALIAN FILMS". The Daily News (HOME (FINAL) ed.). Perth. 18 December 1931. p. 11. Retrieved 5 May 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  24. ^ "EVA NOVAK GONE". The Daily News (HOME (FINAL) ed.). Perth. 4 May 1928. p. 10. Retrieved 5 May 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  25. ^ a b c d "THE RESEARCH BUREAU HOLDS AN AUTOPSY". Sunday Mail. Brisbane. 17 February 1952. p. 11. Retrieved 5 May 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
  26. ^ "OUR FUTURE IN FILM INDUSTRY". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane. 4 December 1946. p. 2. Retrieved 5 May 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
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