Australian Film Industry

Introduction

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Australia has everything you need to make your screen production a success. The world-class film studios of Australia,  Australian film production & film distribution, a wide range of delectable film locations of Australia, the depth of Australian experienced film crews, Oscar-winning talents, and competitive film and TV production incentives make for cost-effective film production.

The industry has a wealth of experience in producing Australian Feature Films, Australian TV series, Australian documentaries and Australian animation films and continually delivers excellence to filmmakers from around the world.

The cinema of Australia had its beginnings with the 1906 production of The Story of the Kelly Gang, arguably the world's first feature film. Since then, Australian film crews have produced many films, several of which have received international recognition. Many Australian actors and filmmakers with international reputations started their careers in Australian Movies, and many of these have established lucrative careers in larger film-production centers such as the United States.

History & Journey of Australian Cinema

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The first public screenings of films in Australia took place in October 1896, within a year of the world's first screening in Paris by Lumière brothers. On 22 August 1896, the first films projected to a paying audience in Australia were at Harry Rickards' Melbourne Opera House (later known as the Tivoli Theatre). The film by magician Carl Hertz was screened as part of a variety show act.  Australia's first cinema, the Salon Lumière at 237 Pitt Street, Sydney, was operating in October 1896 and showed the first Australian-produced short film on 27 October 1896.

The Athenaeum Hall in Collins Street, Melbourne, operated as a dance hall from the 1880s, and from time to time would provide alternative entertainment to patrons. In October 1896 it exhibited the first movie film shown in Australia, within a year of the first public screening of a film in Paris on 28 December 1895 by the French Lumière brothers.

Melbourne also hosted one of the world's first film studios, the Limelight Department, operated by the Salvation Army in Australia between 1897 and 1910. The Limelight Department produced evangelical material for use by the Salvation Army, as well as carrying out private and government contracts. The Limelight Department also produced a film recording of the Federation of Australia.

The 1910s were a "boom" period in Australian cinema. Activity had begun slowly in the 1900s, and 1910 saw four narrative films released, then 51 in 1911, 30 in 1912, and 17 in 1913, and back to four in 1914, when the beginning of World War I brought a temporary pause in film-making. While these numbers may seem small in the 21st century, Australia was one of the most prolific film-producing countries at the time. In all, between 1906 and 1928 Australia made 150 narrative feature films, almost 90 of them between 1910 and 1912.

A general consolidation took place in the early 1910s in the production, distribution and exhibition of films in Australia. By 1912 numerous independent producers had merged into Australasian Films and Union Theaters (now known as Event Cinemas), which established control over film distributors and cinemas and required smaller producers to deal with the cartel. Some view the arrangement as opening the way for American distributors in the 1920s to sign exclusive deals with Australian cinemas to exhibit only their own products, thereby shutting out the local product and crippling the Australian film industry.

Various other explanations attempt to account for the decline of the industry in the 1920s. Some historians point to falling audience numbers, a lack of interest in Australian production and narratives, and Australia's participation in the war. Also, an official ban on bushranger films occurred in 1912. With the suspension of local film production, Australian cinema chains sought alternative products in the United States and realized that Australian-produced films were much more expensive than imported products, which were priced cheaply as production expenses had already been recouped in the home market. To redress this imbalance, the federal government of Australia imposed a tax on imported film in 1914, but this was removed by 1918.

Whatever the explanation, by 1923 American films dominated the Australian Film Market, with 94% of all exhibited films coming from the United States.

In 1930, F. W. Thring (1883–1936) established Efftee Studios based in Melbourne to make talking films using optical sound equipment imported from the United States. The first Australian sound films appeared in 1931: the company produced Diggers (1931), A Co-respondent's Course (1931), The Haunted Barn (1931), and The Sentimental Bloke (1932). During the five years of its existence, Efftee produced nine features, over 80 shorts and several stage productions. Notable collaborators included C. J. Dennis, George Wallace and Frank Harvey. Film production continued only until 1934, when it ceased as a protest over the refusal of the Australian government to set Australian film quotas, followed soon by Thring's death in 1936.

In 1933, In the Wake of the Bounty, directed by Charles Chauvel, cast Tasmanian-born Errol Flynn in a leading role, before he went on to a celebrated Hollywood career. Chauvel directed several successful Australian films, including 1944's World War II classic The Rats of Tobruk (which starred Peter Finch and Chips Rafferty) and 1955's Jedda, which was notable as the first Australian film shot in color, and as the first to feature Aboriginal actors in lead roles and to enter the Cannes Film Festival.

Kokoda Front Line! (1942) directed by Ken G. Hall, won Australia's first Oscar. Chips Rafferty and Peter Finch became prominent international stars of the period. Rafferty's onscreen image as a lanky, laconic bushman struck a chord with Australian filmgoers, and he appeared in Iconic Australian films such as Forty Thousand Horsemen (1940), The Rats of Tobruk (1944), The Overlanders (1946) and Eureka Stockade (1949) (Overlanders and Eureka were part of a series of Australian-themed films produced by Britain's iconic Ealing Studios). In Hollywood, Rafferty also appeared in Australian-themed films, including The Desert Rats (1953), The Sundowners (1960), and Mutiny on the Bounty (1962). Similarly, Peter Finch starred in quintessentially Australian roles (such as "digger" and stockman) through a series of popular films and had a successful and diverse screen career in Britain and the United States.

Both Ron Randell and Rod Taylor began their acting careers in Australia - initially in radio and on stage before appearing in such Australian films as Smithy (1946) for the former and Long John Silver (1954) for the latter. They each transferred to the United States to become Hollywood's leading men in several films of the late 1940s (Randell) and both from the 1950s onwards. Taylor had starring roles in The Time Machine (1960) and The Birds (1963) as well as in several American television series such as Hong Kong (1960-1961).

In the 1950s British and American film production companies made several notable films in Australia based on stories from Australian literature (generally with strong rural themes). These included A Town Like Alice (1956), which starred Virginia McKenna and Peter Finch; The Shiralee (1957), also starring Peter Finch with Australian actors Charles Tingwell, Bill Kerr and Ed Devereaux in supporting roles; Robbery Under Arms (1957) again starring Finch; and Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (1959) starring Ernest Borgnine, John Mills and Angela Lansbury. In 1960, The Sundownerswas shot partly in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales with foreign leads Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum, and Peter Ustinov but a supporting cast including Australians - Chips Rafferty, John Meillon and Leonard Teale.

In 1958, Australian Film Institute was formed and in the same year began awarding the Australian Film Institute Awards.

After filming Whiplash in the country in 1960, Peter Graves said that the biggest problem was the shortage of Australian actors. Australian film production reached a low ebb with few notable productions during the 1960s. The 1966 comedy They're a Weird Mob, starring Walter Chiari, Chips Rafferty, and Claire Dunne, was a rare hit of the period that also documented something of the changing face of Australian society: telling the story of a newly-arrived Italian immigrant who, working as a laborer in Sydney, becomes mates with his co-workers, despite some difficulties with Australian slang and culture. The film foreshadowed the successful approaching New Wave of Australian cinema of the 1970s that would often showcase colloquial Australian culture.

Overseas cinema continued to attract Australian actors as "action-men" with the casting of Australian George Lazenby to replace Sean Connery in portraying the superspy James Bond in the 1969 U.K. film On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

John Gorton, Prime Minister of Australia from 1968 to 1971, initiated several forms of government support for film and the arts, including the Australian Film Development Corporation. The Gough Whitlam government (1972–75) continued the support via its successor the Australian Film Commission, and state governments also established assistance programs. These measures led to a resurgence of Australian film-making in both the low-budget 16mm format and 35mm cinema - the Australian New Wave Cinema - which lasted until the mid-to-late 1980s. The era also marked the emergence of the "Ozploitation" style – characterized by the exploitation of colloquial Australian culture.

Also notable during this era was the effect of the growing feminist movement. The role of women's films was discussed at the Women's Liberation Conference in Melbourne in 1970, and groups such as the Feminist Film Workers Collective (1970s and 1980s), Sydney Women’s Film Group (SWFG, 1972–), Melbourne Women's Film Group (1973–), Reel Women (1979 to 1983 in Melbourne), and Women's Film Unit (Sydney and Melbourne, 1984) were established. Several filmmakers, including Jeni Thornley, Sarah Gibson, Susan Lambert, Martha Ansara, Margot Nash, and Megan McMurchy, were involved in these groups. The 1975 International Women's Film Festival, the first of its kind, was initiated by the SWFG, but groups around the country organized screening events in other state capitals. In Melbourne and Sydney, the festivals ran for nine days (with an audience of around 56,000), and in the other states, they spanned two to three days.

Films such as Picnic at Hanging Rock (directed by Peter Weir, 1975) and Sunday Too Far Away (Ken Hannam, 1975) made an impact on the international scene. The 1970s and 1980s are regarded by many as a Golden age of Australian cinema, with many successful films, from the dark dystopian fiction of Mad Max (George Miller, 1979) to the romantic comedy of Crocodile Dundee (Peter Faiman, 1986) and the emergence of such film-directing auteurs as Gillian Armstrong, Phillip Noyce, and Bruce Beresford.

A major theme of Australian cinema which matured in the 1970s was one of survival in the harsh Australian landscape. Several Australian Thrillers and Horror Films - dubbed "outback gothic" - have appeared, including Wake in Fright, Walkabout, The Cars That Ate Paris and Picnic at Hanging Rock in the 1970s, Razorback, Long Weekend and Shamein the 1980s and Japanese Story, The Proposition and Wolf Creek in the 2000s. These films depict the Australian bush and its creatures as deadly, and its people as outcasts and psychopaths. These elements combine with futuristic post-apocalyptic themes in the Mad Max series. 1971's Walkabout was a British film, set in Australia, which became a forerunner to many Australian films related to indigenous themes; it introduced David Gulpilil to cinematic audiences. 1976's The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith directed by Fred Schepisi re-told an award-winning historical drama from the book by Thomas Keneally about the tragic story of an Aboriginal bushranger.

Classic films from Australian literature and Australian history continued to provide popular cinematic adaptations during the 1970s and 1980s. Gillian Armstrong's My Brilliant Career (1979) featured Judy Davis and Sam Neill in early lead roles. 1982's We of the Never Never followed up on the theme of the female experience of life in the Australian bush. 1982's The Man from Snowy River, starring Tom Burlinson and Sigrid Thornton, dramatised the classic Banjo Paterson poem of that name and became one of the all-time box-office successes of Australian cinema. In addition to the serious historical dramas popular in the 1970s, several films celebrating and satirizing Australian colloquial culture appeared over the decade, including The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972), Alvin Purple (1973), and Barry McKenzie Holds His Own (1974). The Barry McKenzie films saw performing artist and writer Barry Humphries collaborating with director Bruce Beresford. In 1976, Peter Finch won a Posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in the American Satirite Network, thus becoming the first Australian to win an Oscar for Best Actor.

1980's Breaker Morant (starring Jack Thompson and Edward Woodward) dramatized the controversial trial of an Australian soldier during the Boer War of 1899-1902; there followed 1981's World War I drama Gallipoli (directed by Peter Weir and starring Mel Gibson). These films, now considered Classics of Australian Cinema, explored contemporary Australian identity through dramatic episodes in Australian history. Gibson went on to further success in 1982's The Year of Living Dangerously before transferring to pursue his Hollywood career as an actor and director. Many other Australian Movie Stars would follow his path to international stardom in the coming decades. The director of The Year of Living Dangerously, Peter Weir, also made a successful transition to Hollywood. Weir contributed to the screenplay along with its original author, Christopher Koch, and playwright David Williamson. Williamson rose to prominence in the early 1970s and has gone on to write several other original scripts and screenplays made into successful Australian films, including Don's Party (1976), Gallipoli (1981), Emerald City (1988), and Balibo (2009).

Actor/comedian Paul Hogan wrote the screenplay and starred in the title role in his first film, Crocodile Dundee (1986), about a down-to-earth hunter who travels from the Australian outback to New York City. The movie became the most successful Australian film ever, and launched Hogan's international film career. Following the success of Crocodile Dundee, Hogan starred in the sequel, Crocodile Dundee II in 1988. 1988 also saw the release of the drama Evil Angels (released outside of Australia and New Zealand as A Cry in the Dark) about the Lindy Chamberlain saga, in which a dingo took a baby at Ayers Rock and her mother was accused of having murdered the child.

Nicole Kidman began appearing in Australian children's TV and film in the early 1980s – including starring roles in BMX Bandits and Bush Christmas. During the 1980s she appeared in several Australian productions, including Emerald City (1988), and Bangkok Hilton (1989). In 1989 Kidman starred in Dead Calm alongside Sam Neill and Billy Zane. The thriller garnered strong reviews, and Hollywood roles followed.

The 1990s proved a successful decade for the Australian film industry and introduced several new stars to a global audience. Low-budget films such as the comedy/drama Muriel's Wedding, starring Toni Collette, the gently satirical suburban comedy The Castle directed by Rob Sitch (which cast Eric Bana in his first prominent film role), and Baz Luhrmann's flamboyant Strictly Ballroom each attained commercial and critical success, and explored quirky characters inhabiting contemporary Australian suburbia – marking something of a departure from the Outback and historical sagas which obtained success in the 1970s and 1980s. Stephan Elliott's 1994 film The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the desert mixed traditional outback cinematography and landscape with contemporary urban sub-culture: following three drag queens on a road trip to Central Australia.

While several major international stars gained early prominence in the Australian Film Market  over the period, an important stable of established and emerging local stars with prodigious film credits remained prominent, including screen veterans Charles Tingwell, Bill Hunter, Jack Thompson, Bryan Brown, and Chris Haywood.

The World War II drama Blood Oath (1990) debuted both Russell Crowe and Jason Donovan, in minor cinematic roles. Crowe demonstrated his versatility as an actor in this early period of his career by starring soon after as a street gang Melbourne skinhead in 1992's Romper Stomper and then as an inner-Sydney working-class gay man in 1994's The Sum of Us before transferring to the US to commence his Hollywood career.

George Miller's Babe (1995) employed new digital effects to make a barnyard come alive and went on to become one of Australia's highest-grossing films. The 1996 drama Shine achieved an Academy Award for Best Actor award for Geoffrey Rush and Gregor Jordan's 1999 film Two Hands gave Heath Ledger his first leading role.

After Ledger's successful transition to Hollywood, Jordan and Ledger collaborated again in 2003, with Ledger playing the iconic bushranger title role in the film Ned Kelly, co-starring British actress Naomi Watts.

The canon of films related to Indigenous Australians also increased over the 1990s and early 21st Century, with Nick Parsons' 1996 film Dead Heart featuring Ernie Dingo and Bryan Brown; Rolf de Heer's The Tracker, starring Gary Sweet and David Gulpilil and Phillip Noyce's Rabbit-Proof Fence in 2002. In 2006, Rolf de Heer's Ten Canoes became the first major feature film to be shot in an Indigenous language and the film was recognised at Cannes and elsewhere.

The shifting demographics of Australia following post-war multicultural immigration was reflected in Australian cinemathrough the period and in successful films like 1993's The Heartbreak Kid; 1999's Looking for Alibrandi; 2003's Fat Pizza; the Wog Boy comedies and 2007's Romulus, My Father which all dealt with aspects of the migrant experience or Australian subcultures.

Fox Studios Australia and Warner Roadshow Studios had hosted large international productions like The Matrix, Star Wars II, and III.

Rob Sitch and Working Dog Productions followed the success of The Castle with period comedy The Dish, which was the highest grossing Australian film of the Year 2000 and entered the top ten list of highest grossing Australian films. Big budget Australian-international co-productions Moulin Rouge! (Baz Luhrmann, 2001) and Happy Feet (which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for filmmaker George Miller in 2006) also entered the top ten list during the first decade of the new century. Baz Luhrmann directed a series of international hits and returned to Australia for the production of 2008's Australia, which showcased a host of Australian film stars including Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman and David Wenham and went on to become the second highest-grossing film in Australian cinematic history.

Lantana, directed by Ray Lawrence attained critical and commercial success in 2001 for its examination of a complex series of relationships in suburban Sydney, and events surrounding a mysterious crime. It won seven AFI Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Anthony LaPaglia and Best Actress for Kerry Armstrong.

Emerging star Sam Worthington had early lead roles in the 2002 mobster black comedy Dirty Deeds and 2003's crime caper Gettin' Square. Gettin Square also featured rising star David Wenham who demonstrated versatility with a string of critically acclaimed roles including the title role in Paul Cox's 1999 biopic Molokai: The Story of Father Damien and the 2001 thriller The Bank, directed by the politically conscious film director Robert Connolly.

In 2005, Little Fish marked a return to Australian film for actress Cate Blanchett and won five Australian Film Institute Awards including Best Actor for Hugo Weaving, Best Actress for Blanchett and Best Supporting Actress for screen veteran Noni Hazlehurst.

In 2008 following Ledger's death, the Australian Documentary Film celebrating the romps of the Australian New Wave in Cinema of 1970s and 1980s low-budget cinema: Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! The film was directed by Mark Hartley and interviews filmmakers including Quentin Tarantino, Dennis Hopper, George Millerand Barry Humphries.

The early 2000s were generally not successful years for Australian Film Business, with several confronting dramas proving unpopular at the box office. In 2008, no Australian movies made $3 million at the box office, but a conscious decision by filmmakers to broaden the types of films being made as well as the range of budgets produced a series of box-office hits at the close of the decade. Strong box office performances were recorded in 2009–10 by Bruce Beresford's Mao's Last Dancer; the Aboriginal musical Bran Nue Dae the dramatization of John Marsden's novel Tomorrow, When the War Began; and the crime drama Animal Kingdom which featured major Australian screen starsBen Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Guy Pearce and Jacki Weaver. Animal Kingdom achieved success at the 2010 Australian Film Institute Awards and was acclaimed at film festivals around the world. Tomorrow, When the War Beganbecame the highest-grossing domestic film of 2010 and it was nominated for nine Australian Film Institute Awards. Other award-winning films of the period included Balibo (2009) starring Anthony LaPaglia; Middle Eastern crime flick Cedar Boys (2009) directed by Serhat Caradee; and Australian Animated Comedy Drama Mary and Max (2009).

World War I drama Beneath Hill 60 (2010), directed by Jeremy Sims and starring Brendan Cowell, was nominated for numerous awards and won three.

Sally Riley, as inaugural head of the Indigenous department at ABC Television, after her previous role at the Australian Film Commission (later Screen Australia), has done much to develop Indigenous talent in the Australian Film and Television Industry. Contemporary Indigenous film-makers include Warwick Thornton, Wayne Blair, Trisha Morton-Thomas and Rachel Perkins.

The Australian Film Business continues to produce a reasonable number of films each year, but in common with other English-speaking countries, Australia has often found it difficult to compete with the American film industry, the latter helped by having a much larger home market. The most successful Australian actors and filmmakers are easily lured by Hollywood and rarely return to the  film industry of Australia. The South Australian Film Corporation continues to produce quality films, and Adelaide has been chosen as the location for films such as Hotel Mumbai (2019).

2020

An Australian film and TV industry was afflicted by COVID-19 pandemic, with at least 60 shoots being halted and about 20,000 people out of work. On Monday 23 March, all productions funded by Screen Australia were postponed. As of 15 April 2020, after some improvement in COVID-19 statistics in Australia, Screen Australia continues to fund work and process applications, intending to use all of its 2019/20 budget.

Sometimes after reopening movies and TV industries, two other several films including Escape from Pretoria (2020) and James Wan's reboot of video game franchise Mortal Kombat (2021), a feature film production in the state's history, who were delaying the films during the pandemic.

Genres of Australian Cinema

Australian Gothic films

Gothic films incorporate Gothic elements and can be infused within different genres such as horror, romance, science fiction, and comedy. Australian Gothic films have been an accordant genre ever since the 1970s. Gothic Australian filmsmeans to make films that are diverse and use camera techniques in different ways to question what the audience may perceive. One of the Australian Gothic films created by female filmmakers Suzan Dermody and Elizabeth Jackacalled The Screening of Australia (1987), shows different stylistic thematic terms and was the most successful at showing what is called the ocker, a term to describe a (white) Australian savage man. Other than this, there is a strong relationship between Australian Gothic films and Gothic literature. The characters and the actions that happen in a Gothic novel is created into a Gothic film. Most Gothic novels during the 1970s referred to female characters and their Australian cultural values.

Although the film Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) was directed by a male filmmaker, it was written by female storyteller Joan Lindsay. Lindsay decided to make this film culturally related to Australian societal issues of day-to-day lives. Her film included Gothic materials and gave a twist of horror that later the director will showcase through the mise-en-sceneand cinematography. The use of Gothic materials were offered by the filmmakers Dermody and Jacka to other Australian Gothic films that have opened up to a more thematic analysis. Other Gothic films were made to broaden Australian characteristics and features. Smoke Em If You Got ‘Em (1988) produced by Jennifer Hooks, showcased the protagonist in a supernatural horrific way, but also added a comedic twist to not lose its characterization of film style.

 

Contributors and Contribution:

From Baz Luhrmann's blockbuster biopic Elvis to Russell Crowe's vision for Aussiewood, Australia is gaining popularity as a location for Australian long-form TV drama and film productions. The 2020-21 ABS Film, Television and Digital Games Survey highlights significant employment growth within Australia's screen industry — a jump of 37 per cent since 2015-16.

The Australian film industry is booming, and we acknowledge that alongside the rise in production has come staffing challenges, leading to increased demand for below-the-line roles, says Graeme Mason, CEO of Screen Australia.

Louise Hodgson, industry programs manager for Screenworks in Ballina, says it's a brilliant time to get into the Australian Film Industry.

Australia is crying out for film crew members now, she says, adding that below-the-line workers can be anyone who isn't a director, writer or producer.

"There is a shortage of below-the-line crew across Australia," Hodgson says.

"We need people to wrangle the animals, source locations, work in hair and makeup, create props, perform stunts, FX artists."

During the height of the global Covid-19 pandemic, scores of Hollywood film stars relocated to Australia to make big-budget films in comparative safety – in ‘Aussiewood’. Australia had lower infection rates than most other nations, and it moved quickly to develop safe shooting protocols aimed at minimising the spread of the virus on set.

After May 2020, when the protocols came into effect, Australia became the new ‘go-to destination’ for Hollywood producers. A-listers flocked to Australian shores to make movies, including Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman, Austin Butler, Christian Bale, Matt Damon, Idris Elba, Liam Neeson and Natalie Portman.

“During COVID, there were all these movie stars living in Byron Bay, and it seemed as though Hollywood had relocated to Australia,” says Associate Professor Mark David Ryan from the Film and Television School at the Queensland University of Technology. “There is no doubt that production grew massively.”

Until 10 years ago, the number of international productions being filmed in Australia was highly variable, he adds.

“You might get two films one year, none the next, and five films the following year. In the last five or so years, it’s been growing steadily, and the pandemic accelerated things further.”

For the first time in Australian history, expenditure on scripted screen production has exceeded $2 billion, according to Screen Australia’s Drama Report of 2021-22. A total of 162 drama screen productions were made for $2.29 billion, up from $1.94 billion the year before.

This year appears to be equally productive, with blockbusters like Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and Furiosa underway. The latter is the Mad Max prequel with a budget of $168 million. It stars Chris Hemsworth and is directed by legendary Australian filmmaker George Miller.

There has also been a flurry of film studios opening in what some have described as the building of ‘Aussiewood.’

In 2021, Marvel Studios announced that it was moving its headquarters from Atlanta to Sydney for at least the next five years. In 2019, Disney-owned visual effects company Industrial Light & Magic chose Sydney as the location for a new studio where the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is being shot.

One of the world’s leading visual effects companies, British company DNEG, has also set up shop, while state governments have committed to building studios in Perth and Cairns.

Other newly opened studios include the Screen Queensland Studios in Brisbane and the Byron Studios in Northern Rivers. In Coffs Harbour, Russell Crowe is one of the backers of a $438 million film studio that will become Australia’s first fully integrated production and post-production studio complex.

Many elements in the sector are strong right now,” says Matthew Deaner, CEO of Screen Producers Australia. “There’s a lot of appetite from consumers for Australian stories.

Employment levels in the industry are high, and several streaming services have recently launched.

However, my concern is that unless we solve some structural challenges, the number of projects will decline as the policy spotlight fades. We need to look at establishing stable, long-term opportunities in Australia.

We need to have the right skills training, incentives and infrastructure in place, as well as the right regulatory framework.

Current Market Condition

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Australian cinema screens are mostly independently owned , film screening are done there . Another factor that can be considered to have played a part in keeping attendance up and ticket prices down is the continued dominance of independently owned cinema screens across the country. In 2022, there were 702 cinema screens that were owned by independent parties in Australia, which translates to a market share of around 30 percent. Australian cinemasthemselves suffered a reduction in attendance attendance figures to 51 percent in 2022, an increase from the preceding year. This attendance figure can perhaps, in part, be attributed to the average price of a cinema ticket in the same year, which grew by a small amount to just over 16 Australian dollars. The average number of visits to the cinema peaked in 2017, reaching 8.6 visits over an average three months. The dominant age group amongst cinema patrons were those aged 50 and over. This has been subject to only minor fluctuations of one to three percent in recent years. In terms of gender split, this remains largely even between male and female visitors across all age ranges. At the box office in Australia, Avatar remained the highest grossing film of all time, generating around 115 million Australian dollars in box office revenue, echoing its worldwide performance. By comparison, the next two all-time highest grossing films Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Avengers: Endgame grossed around 94 million and 84 million Australian dollars respectively.

In 2019, the Australian film industry produced feature films. The total expenditure of Australian Film and Television Production in 2018-2019 was AUD 1.7 billion.In 2020, Australian films held a market share of 3.9% in their domestic box office. The highest-grossing Australian film of all time is Crocodile Dundee (1986) with a box office revenue of AUD 47,707,045.There were 646 cinema theatres in Australia in 2020.In 2019, more than 2,200 hours of Australian television content were produced. In 2020, Australian documentary productions accounted for 182 hours of content.In 2018-2019, 86% of all Australian film and television production expenses were spent on drama content. In 2019, the average cinema attendance per person in Australia was 4.4 times per year.Of 255 feature films produced between 2014-2018, 47.1% had a female producer, 22.7% had a female director, and 31.4% had a female writer. An Australian feature film production, on average, cost AUD 1.32 million in 2016.In 2019, there were 29 Australian children’s television seriesin production.The Australian film industry provided around 47,000 full-time equivalent jobs in 2018. Government financial support for the production of Australian Indigenous movie projects represents more than AUD 172 million since 1993.Oscar-winning Australian actress Cate Blanchett ranks as the top box office performer, with a cumulative box office of over USD 2.2 billion. Australian film and video production businesses generated AUD 4.4 billion in total income during the 2018-19 financial year. Between 2010-2019, the Australian film industry produced over 1,300 short films. In 2016, the number of international co-productions with Australia was 12, with a total production value of AUD 88 million. Between 2010 and 2019, Australian films won 41 awards at the AACTA (Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts) Awards. The Australian film industry is a thriving and diverse sector, with many successes to celebrate. In 2019 alone, the industry produced 53 feature films and 646 cinema sites were in operation across Australia. The total expenditure on film and television production was AUD 1.7 billion for 2018-2019 financial year, while domestic box office market share of Australian films reached 3.9%. Furthermore, 86% of all expenses went towards drama content during this period; 2200 hours of television content were also produced in 2019 as well as 182 hours worth of documentary productions in 2020. In terms of individual success stories within the industry, Crocodile Dundee (1986) remains the highest grossing Australian movie ever made at AUD 47 million dollars; Cate Blanchett ranks first among top box office performers with over USD 2 billion earned from her movies since 2000; 14 out 255 feature films between 2014-2018 had female producers attached to them - representing 47%; 31% had female writers involved too - indicating an increase in gender equality within the field overall compared to previous years when women's involvement was much lower than men's. Additionally there have been 41 awards won by Australians at AACTA Awards between 2010-2019 which further highlights their achievements both domestically and internationally throughout that time frame. Overall these statistics demonstrate how far Australia has come since its inception into filmmaking back in 1893 – showing just how successful it can be if given enough support from government funding or private investors alike.

 

Notable films of Australia

Australian filmmakers were at the forefront of cinema and film, having created what is considered the first feature-length narrative film with the release of The Story of the Kelly Gang and other early films by directors John Gavin, W. J. Lincoln and Alfred Rolfe. Here is the list of popular films of Australia.

 

Passengers Alighting from Ferry Brighton at Manly,

The Melbourne Cup

Patineur Grotesque

Prince Ranjitsinhji Practising Batting in the Nets

Social Salvation

Soldiers of the

Inauguration of the Commonwealth

The Story of the Kelly Gang

Moora Neya, or The Message of the Spear

The Sentimental Bloke

Robbery Under Arms

For the Term of His Natural Life

On Our Selection

In the Wake of the Bounty

The Squatter's Daughter

Forty Thousand Horsemen

Kokoda Front Line!

Sons of Matthew

Jedda

Hard to Windward

Edge of The Deep

The Power Makers

Three in a Million (1960)

Bypass to Life (1962

Night Freighter (1962)

The Land That Waited (1963)

The Dancing Class (1964)

I, the Aboriginal (1964)

The Legend of Damien Parer (1965)

Stronger Since The War (1965)

Clay (1965)

They're a Weird Mob (1966)

Concerto for Orchestra (1966)

Cardin in Australia (1967)

The Change at Groote (1968)

The Talgai Skull (1968)

Jack and Jill: A Postscript (1969)

Skippy and the Intruders (1969)

Three To Go: Michael (1970)

Nickel Queen (1970)

Homesdale (1971)

Walkabout (1971)

Stork (1972)

Wake in Fright (1971)

Marco Polo Jr. Versus the Red Dragon (1972)

Libido (1973)

27A (1973)

The Cars That Ate Paris (1974)

Stone (1974) –

Sunday Too Far Away (1975)

Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)

The Devil's Playground (1976)

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1976)

Don’s Party (1976)

Storm Boy (1977)

The Getting of Wisdom (1977)

Newsfront (1978)

Mouth to Mouth (1978)

Mad Max (1979)

My Brilliant Career (1979)

Tim (1979)

Breaker Morant (1980)

Gallipoli (1981)

Mad Max 2 (1981)

Lonely Hearts (1982)

Running on Empty (1982)

The Man from Snowy River (1982)

BMX Bandits (1983)

Careful, He Might Hear You (1983)

Phar Lap (1983)

The Slim Dusty Movie (1984)

Annie's Coming Out (1984) – AFI winner for Best Film

Fortress (1985)

Bliss (1985)

Burke & Wills (1985)

Crocodile Dundee (1986)

Malcolm (1986)

For Love Alone (1986)

The Lighthorsemen (1987)

The Year My Voice Broke (1987)

Dogs in Space (1987)

Ground Zero (1987)

Rikky and Pete (1988)

Ghosts… of the Civil Dead (1988)

Sebastian and the Sparrow (1988)

Evil Angels (A Cry in the Dark) (1989)

Houseboat Horror (1989)

Dead Calm (1989)

Death in Brunswick (1990)

Flirting (1990)

The Big Steal (1990)

Proof (1991)

Romper Stomper (1992)

Strictly Ballroom (1992)

The Piano (1993

Sirens (1994)

Bad Boy Bubby (1994)

Metal Skin (1994)

Muriel's Wedding (1994)

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)

The Sum of Us (1994)

Dad and Dave

Angel Baby (1995)

All Men Are Liars (1995)

Babe (1995)

Così

Shine (1996)

Idiot Box (1996)

Hotel de Love (1996)

Love and Other Catastrophes (1996)

Dating the Enemy (1996)

Romeo + Juliet (1996)

Love Serenade (1996)

Kiss or Kill (1997)

Doing Time for Patsy Cline (1997)

The Castle (1997)

Year of the Dogs (1997)

Road to Nhill (1997)

The Wiggles Movie (1997)

Blackrock (1997)

Oscar and Lucinda (1997)

Crackers (1998)

Dead Letter Office (1998)

Radiance (1998)

The Boys (1998)

The Interview (1998)

Paperback Hero (1998)

Two Hands (1999)

Soft Fruit (1999)

The 2000s in the history of Australian film have seen mixed success, including Moulin Rouge! revitalizing the musical film genre, award-winning short film Harvie Krumpet, and box office success Happy Feet.

The Dish (2000)

Bootmen (2000)

Better Than Sex (2000)

The Magic Pudding (2000)

He Died with a Felafel in His Hand (2001)

Chopper (2000)

On the Beach (2000)

The Wog Boy (2000)

Looking for Alibrandi (2000)

The Bank (2000)

Silent Partner (2001)

Lantana (2001)

Moulin Rouge! (2001)

Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001)

The Man Who Sued God (2001)

One Night the Moon (2001)

WillFull (2001)

The Tracker (2002)

Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)

Crackerjack (2002)

The Nugget (2002)

Dirty Deeds (2002)

The Master of Disguise (2002)

The Hard Word (2002)

Swimming Upstream (2002)

Trojan Warrior (2002)

Cracker Bag (2003)

Danny Deckchair (2003)

Harvie Krumpet (2003)

Gettin' Square (2003)

Take Away (2003)

Japanese Story (2003)

Undead (2003)

Love's Brother (2004)

Strange Bedfellows (2004)

Peaches (2004)

Somersault (2004)

One Perfect Day (2004)

Wolf Creek (2005)

Look Both Ways (2005)

The Proposition (2005)

Ra Choi (2005)

The Illustrated Family Doctor (2005)

Three Dollars (2005)

Monster-in-Law (2005)

Little Fish (2005)

Opal Dream (2006)

BoyTown (2006)

Kenny (2006)

Ten Canoes (2006)

Candy (2006)

Jindabyne (2006)

Happy Feet (2006)

Who Killed Dr Bogle and Mrs Chandler? (2006)

Last Train to Freo (2006)

Kokoda (2006)

Romulus, My Father (2007)

Lucky Miles (2007)

The Final Winter (2007)

The Jammed (2007)

Clubland (2007)

Noise (2007)

Rogue (2007)

Black Water (2007)

December Boys (2007)

Newcastle (2008)

Marry Me (2008)

The Square (2008)

The Black Balloon (2008)

Unfinished Sky (2008)

Among Dead Men (2008)

Australia (2008)

Solo (2008)

Balibo (2009)

Samson and Delilah (2009)

Beautiful Kate (2009)

Last Ride (2009)

Mary and Max (2009)

Charlie & Boots (2009)

Stone Bros. (2009)

Cedar Boys (2009)

Offside (2009)

Van Diemen's Land (2009)

The Book of Revelation (2006)

Bran Nue Dae (2010)

Animal Kingdom (2010)

Oranges and Sunshine (2010)

Uninhabited (2010)

Tomorrow, When the War Began (2010)

Daybreakers (2010)

I Love You Too (2010)

Beneath Hill 60 (2010)

Red Hill (2010)

Griff the Invisible (2010)

Wog Boy 2: Kings of Mykonos (2010)

The Reef (2010)

Wasted on the Young (2010)

Sanctum (2011)

A Heartbeat Away (2011)

Wrath (2011)

Mad Bastards (2011)

The Eye of The Storm (2011)

The Cup (2011)

Snowtown (2011)

The Hunter (2011)

Red Dog (2011)

Little Johnny: The Movie (2011)

Dingoes & Dubstep in the Red Center (2011)

Not Suitable for Children (2012)

The Sapphires (2012)

Any Questions for Ben? (2012)

100 Bloody Acres (2012)

Mental (2012)

Wish You Were Here (2012)

Reverse Runner (2012)

Bait 3D (2012)

Black & White & Sex (2012)

Satellite Boy (2013)

Six Lovers (2012)

The Rocket (2013)

Mystery Road (2013)

Felony (2013)

The Great Gatsby (2013)

Wolf Creek 2 (2013)

The Turning (2013)

Tracks (2013)

These Final Hours (2013)

The Rover (2014)

Predestination (2014)

Dinosaur Island (2014)

The Babadook (2014)

Healing (2014)

Plague (2014) – post-apocalyptic

Wyrmwood (2014)

Maya the Bee Movie (2014)

Son of a Gun (2014)

Still Flowin': The Movie (2014)

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Drown (2015)

Paper Planes (2015)

A Month of Sundays (2015)

Girl Asleep (2015)

Holding the Man (2015)

Aussies in the Andes (2015)

Blinky Bill the Movie (2015)

Oddball (2015)

The Dressmaker (2015)

Sherpa (2015)

Colonel Panics (2016)

Remembering The Man (2016)

Burns Point (2016)

Spin Out (2016)

The Legend of Ben Hall (2016)

Red Dog: True Blue (2016)

Goldstone (2016)

Lion (2016)

The Novelist (2017)

La Souffrance (2017)

Australia 2 (2017)

Mountain (2017)

Breath (2017)

Sweet Country (2017 )

The Film From Lot 15 (2018)

Maya the Bee: The Honey Games (2018)

Storm Boy (2018)

Melodrama/Random/Melbourne

Ladies in Black (2018)

Hidden Light (2018)

Eleven Days (2018 )

Nekrotronic (2019)

Palm Beach (2019)

The Nightingale (2018)

Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan (2019)

Ride Like a Girl

Koko: A Red Dog Story (2019)

The Wishmas Tree (2019)

H Is for Happiness (2019)

Dirt Music (2019)

True History of the Kelly Gang (2020)

Go Karts (2020)

Rams (2020)

100% Wolf (2020)

Slim & I (2020)

Babyteeth (2020)

Never Too Late (2020)

Combat Wombat (2020) –

High Ground (2020)

The Furnace (2020)

Back to the Outback (2021)

The Dry (2021)

Penguin Bloom (2021)

Maya the Bee: The Golden Orb (2021)

Long Story Short (2021)

Daisy Quokka: World's Scariest Animal (2021)

Ammonite (2021)

June Again (2021)

Buckley's Chance (2021)

River (2021)

You Won't Be Alone (2022)

Gold (2022)

We Are Still Here (2022)

Lonesome (2022)

The Reef: Stalked (2022)

Of an Age (2022)

Sweet As (2022)

Blueback (2022)

Monolith (2022)

Talk to Me (2022)

True Spirit (2023)

The Portable Door (2023)

Limbo (2023)

Run Rabbit Run (2023)

The New Boy (2023)

The Appleton Ladies' Potato Race (2023)

Love Is in the Air (2023)

Shayda (2023)

 

Notable Film Festivals in Australia

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List of popular film festivals in Australia providing a great opportunity and Australian Platform to the film professionalsand independent film makers to showcase their talent globally.

Sydney Film Festival,

Australian Film Festival

Adelaide Film Festival

Melbourne International Film Festival

Brisbane International Film Festival

Tropfest Australia

Alliance Française French Film Festival

Flickerfest International Short Film Festival

Antenna International Documentary Film Festival

Human Rights Arts and Film Festival

Auburn International Film Festival for Children and Young For Film’s Sake

Sydney Global Cine Carnival