Australian films’ share of the Australian box office, 1977-2007

Australian-produced feature films have accounted for an average of 5.1 per cent of gross takings at the Australian box office ($511 million out of a total of $10,520 million) in the past 15 years. Only once in that period did the Australian share reach 10 per cent: in 1994, with the success of The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Muriel's Wedding. In 2001, a record $63.4 million was earned by local features, including Moulin Rouge, Lantana, The Man Who Sued God and Crocodile Dundee in LA, but this represented only 7.8 per cent of the total box office that year. In 2007, the Australian share was 4 per cent ($36 million), a decrease from 4.6 per cent ($40 million) in 2006.

	The years where Australian films gained at least 10 per cent of the local box office (and the films responsible) were:
1977	Caddie, The Last Wave, Eliza Fraser, The Mango Tree
1981	Gallipoli, Mad Max 2, Puberty Blues
1982	The Man from Snowy River, The Year of Living Dangerously
1986	Crocodile Dundee
1988	Crocodile Dundee II, The Man from Snowy River II
1994	The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert; Muriel’s Wedding

Source: Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia (MPDAA), compiled by the Australian Film Commission (AFC).

Notes: Figures are in current dollars (i.e. not adjusted for inflation) and per calendar year. They are based on annual data released the following January and do not reflect subsequent updates by the MPDAA.