Australian cinema facts for kids
Cinema of Australia means the system of production, distribution, and showing of movies in Australia. Making movies in Australia started in 1906. The Story of the Kelly Gang was the earliest feature movie ever made. Since then, many movies have been made in Australia. Many have got international praise. Many actors and moviemakers started their careers in Australian movies.
Commercially successful Australian movies have included Paul Hogan's Crocodile Dundee, Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge! and Chris Noonan's Babe. Other award winning productions include Picnic at Hanging Rock, Gallipoli, The Tracker, Shine and Ten Canoes. Famous Australian trained actors include Errol Flynn, Peter Finch, Rod Taylor, Mel Gibson, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett and Heath Ledger.
History
The Australian movie history has been called 'boom and bust'. This is because at times there are very few movies made and other times many movies are made.
List of highest-grossing Australian movies
| Rank | Title | Year of release | Budget (A$) | Australian gross (A$) | Worldwide gross (US$) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crocodile Dundee | 1986 | $11,500,000 | $47,707,045 | $328,203,506 |
| 2 | Australia | 2008 | $200,000,000 (US$130,000,000, US$78,000,000 after tax incentives) | $36,780,000 | $211,342,221 |
| 3 | Babe | 1995 | $30,000,000 | $36,770,000 | $254,134,910 |
| 4 | Happy Feet | 2006 | $132,740,000 | $31,800,000 | $384,300,000 |
| 5 | Moulin Rouge! | 2001 | $100,453,600 | $27,700,000 | $179,213,434 |
| 6 | Crocodile Dundee 2 | 1988 | $15,800,000 | $24,900,000 | $239,606,210 |
| 7 | Strictly Ballroom | 1992 | $3,000,000 | $21,800,000 | $37,763,592 |
| 8 | The Dish | 2000 | - | $18,000,000 | - |
| 9 | The Man From Snowy River | 1982 | - | $17,200,000 | - |
| 10 | Red Dog | 2011 | $8,500,000 | $21,125,682 (as of 12/12/2011) | - |
Images for kids
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The old Pacific Cinema at Bulahdelah, New South Wales - a classic example of an early, small, country-town cinema
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Peter Finch with fellow Australian Diane Cilento during the making of British film Passage Home (1955). Finch debuted in Australian film in the 1930s, moving on to star in The Rats of Tobruk (1944). He would become the first Australian to win an Academy Award for Best Actor, albeit posthumously, in 1976.
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Prime Minister John Gorton initiated several avenues of government support for Australian cinema
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The National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra
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An open-air cinema in Sydney in 2010
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