List of highest-grossing films in Australia

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	115,781,489
2	Star Wars: The Force Awakens	2015	94,038,526
3	Avengers: Endgame	2019	84,174,373
4	The Lion King	2019	64,111,178
5	Avengers: Infinity War	2018	62,019,436
6	Star Wars: The Last Jedi	2017	58,094,407
7	Titanic	1997	57,709,768
8	Bohemian Rhapsody	2018	55,226,090
9	The Avengers	2012	53,489,620
10	Jurassic World	2015	52,957,265

Record holders

Timeline of the highest-grossing film record

Year	Title	Record setting gross (A$)
1940	Gone With the Wind	3,426,000^R[2]
1965	The Sound of Music	4,437,000^R[2]
1975	Jaws	4,620,000^R[2]
1977	Star Wars	6,200,000^R[2]
1982	E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial	11,424,768^R[3]
1986	Crocodile Dundee	47,707,045[4] (19,772,232^R)[3]
1998	Titanic	57,663,305[1]
2009	Avatar	115,767,244[1]

^RDistributor rental.

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 for 34 years.

Rank	Title	Year of release	Budget (A$)	Australian gross (A$)[4]	Worldwide gross (US$)
1	Crocodile Dundee	1986	$11,500,000	$47,707,598	$328,203,506[5]
2	Australia	2008	$200,000,000 (US$130,000,000, US$78,000,000 after tax incentives)[6]	$37,555,757	$211,342,221[7]
3	Babe	1995	$30,000,000	$36,797,519	$254,134,910[8]
4	Happy Feet	2006	$132,740,000	$31,786,593	$384,335,608[9]
5	Lion	2016	$15,000,000	$29,560,359	$140,312,928[10]
6	Moulin Rouge!	2001	$52,000,000	$27,763,809	$179,213,434[11]
7	The Great Gatsby	2013	$105,000,000	$27,385,977	$353,641,895[12]
8	Peter Rabbit	2018	$50,000,000	$26,759,455	$351,266,433[13]
9	Crocodile Dundee II	1988	$15,800,000	$24,916,805	$239,606,210[14]
10	Strictly Ballroom	1992	$3,000,000	$21,760,859	$80,000,000[15]

Australian record holders

Timeline of the highest-grossing Australian film record[16]

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:

• 1900s – The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906) (gross £20,000)[17]
• 1910s – The Fatal Wedding (1911) (£18,000),[18] The Life Story of John Lee, or The Man They Could Not Hang (1912) (£20,000),[17] The Martyrdom of Nurse Cavell (1915) (£25,000)[17]
• 1920s – For the Term of His Natural Life (1927) (over £40,000)[19]
• 1930s – On Our Selection (1932) (£60,000),[20] The Silence of Dean Maitland (1934) (£50,000)[20]
• 1940s – Forty Thousand Horsemen (1940) (£130,000),[21] Smithy (1946) (over £50,000),[20] The Overlanders (1946) (£250,000),[20] Sons of Matthew (1949)
• 1950s – Walk Into Paradise (1956)

See also

Lists of highest-grossing films

External links

• MPDAA Historical Box Office Top 10 Lists
• Film Victoria — Australian Films at the Australian Box Office

References

1. "MPDAA Historical Box Office Top 10 Lists - All Time Box Office". MPDAA. Retrieved 24 March 2020.
2. "All-time Aussie Rental Champs". Variety. May 6, 1981. p. 56.
3. "'Croc' still tops shifting Oz Aussie b.o. sweeps". Variety. May 2, 1990. p. 234.
4. "MPDAA Historical Box Office Top 10 Lists - All Time Box Office - AUS". MPDAA. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
5. Crocodile Dundee at Box Office Mojo
6. McClintock, Pamela (24 November 2008). "Hollywood stuffs Thanksgiving slate". Variety. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
7. Australia at Box Office Mojo
8. Babe at Box Office Mojo
9. Happy Feet at Box Office Mojo
10. Lion at Box Office Mojo
11. Moulin Rouge at Box Office Mojo
12. The Great Gatsby at Box Office Mojo
13. Peter Rabbit at Box Office Mojo
14. Crocodile Dundee II at Box Office Mojo
15. "Subscribe". Theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
16. "Film Victoria — Australian Films at the Australian Box Office" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
17. "£100,000 SPENT". The Advocate. Burnie, Tasmania. 5 January 1928. p. 6. Retrieved 5 May 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
18. "AUSTRALIAN FILMS". The Daily News (HOME (FINAL) ed.). Perth. 18 December 1931. p. 11. Retrieved 5 May 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
19. "EVA NOVAK GONE". The Daily News (HOME (FINAL) ed.). Perth. 4 May 1928. p. 10. Retrieved 5 May 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
20. "THE RESEARCH BUREAU HOLDS AN AUTOPSY". Sunday Mail. Brisbane. 17 February 1952. p. 11. Retrieved 5 May 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
21. "OUR FUTURE IN FILM INDUSTRY". The Courier-Mail. Brisbane. 4 December 1946. p. 2. Retrieved 5 May 2013 – via National Library of Australia.