The combined star power of Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Jude Law and Jason Statham in Paul Feig’s action-comedy Spy wasn’t enough to topple Mad Max: Fury Road from the top of the Australian box office over the weekend.
George Miller’s latest instalment to the iconic franchise scooped $4,149,968 over 273 locations, boosting its total domestic earnings to $12,557,065. The film, distributed by Roadshow, follows the plight of a road warrior Furiosa (Charlize Theron) who, with the help of Max (Tom Hardy) tries to save five imprisoned women from the clutches of Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne).
McCarthy stars in Fox’s Spy as Susan, an eager-to-please CIA employee who spends most of her time behind a desk acting as the eyes and ears of her partner and top operative Bradley Fine (Law). But when a Bulgarian arms dealer named Rayna Boyanov (Byrne) enters the picture, claiming to know the identities of all CIA operatives, Susan throws her hat into the ring and is sent to Paris by Agency chief (Allison Janney) on a track-and-report mission.
Bolstered by positive critic reviews, Spy was released over 259 screens and grossed $3,618,119 in its first week. According to a report released by Rentrak, with the inclusion of special event screenings and previews, that takes the films Aus box office total to $3,700,551.
Comedy musical Pitch Perfect 2 continues to sing in its third week, raking in $3,205,025 across 260 screens. Distributed by Universal Pictures, the feel-good flick has amassed $22,510,965 at the Aus box office so far.
Disney’s Avengers: Age of Ultron is still thrilling Aus audiences in the fifth week of its release, scooping $1,078,542 across 204 locations. The popular superhero film has so far grossed $38,373,989 in Aus.
British-American drama Woman in Gold debuted on 233 screens, taking $1,068,699 (a total of $1,101,532 including previews). The film stars Helen Mirren as Maria Altmann, who, 60 years after fleeing Vienna, attempts to reclaim family possessions that were seized by the Nazis. It is being distributed by Roadshow.
The horror Poltergeist also opened last weekend, earning $754,251 over 160 screens. The reboot and remake of producer Steven Spielberg's and director Tobe Hooper's 1982 film of the same name, the 2015 version stars Sam Rockwell, Rosemarie DeWitt, Jared Harris, and Jane Adams, and is distributed by 20th Century Fox.
A Royal Night Out slipped 51% in its second week of release, grossing $324, 283 over 264 locations. The film, distributed by Paramount, has so far amassed $1,370,359 at the Aus box office.
The Hindi romantic comedy, Tanu Weds Manu: Returns took $196,832 across 19 screens in its opening weekend. The film is a sequel to Tanu Weds Manu, in which Kangana Ranaut and R. Madhavan reprise their roles from the prequel, and is distributed by Eros International.
Teen horror Unfriended came in ninth on the Aus box office charts, taking $101,489 in its fourth week. The film, distributed by Universal, was released over 219 screens and has so far amassed an Aus total of $2,915,866.
Finally, Fast and Furious 7 rounds out the top ten in its eighth week. Distributed by Universal, the film took $92,938 over 83 screens, taking its Aus box office tally to a whopping $43,236,342.