Australian cinema facts for kids
The Cinema of Australia is all about how movies are made, shared, and watched in Australia. Movie making in Australia began a long time ago, in 1906. The very first full-length movie ever made was The Story of the Kelly Gang. Since then, Australia has created many amazing films. Lots of these movies have won awards and are loved around the world. Many famous actors and directors started their careers in Australian movies.
Some really popular Australian movies include Paul Hogan's Crocodile Dundee, Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge!, and Chris Noonan's Babe. Other films that won many awards are Picnic at Hanging Rock, Gallipoli, The Tracker, Shine, and Ten Canoes. Australia has also produced many talented actors. These include Errol Flynn, Peter Finch, Rod Taylor, Mel Gibson, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, and Heath Ledger.
A Look at Australian Movie History
The story of Australian movies is often called "boom and bust." This means there have been times when many movies were made, like a "boom." Then, there were other times when very few movies were produced, which is the "bust" part. This up-and-down pattern shows how the film industry in Australia has changed over the years.
Top-Earning Australian Movies
Here is a list of some of the highest-grossing Australian movies. These films earned the most money at the box office.
| 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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