Box Office
The film grossed $AU6.37 million in its opening weekend in Australia, setting the record for the highest grossing opening weekend for an Australian film and bumping the latest James Bond movie Quantum of Solace to second place. Australia’s ticket sales overseas is about $82 million from 51 countries, with the top market, Australia with $23.1 million after five weekends. It opened at No. 1 in Spain, France and Germany but at No. 3 in Britain.
Surprising box office analysts, the film opened #5 in the U.S. behind Quantum of Solace, Twilight, Bolt, and Four Christmases, respectively, with $20 million. However, Fox officials are happy with the numbers, as they said they were expecting only an $18 million opening gross for the movie. They further pointed out that Baz Luhrmann’s other films, like Moulin Rouge!, Strictly Ballroom, and Romeo + Juliet, started slowly and then built momentum. (more…)
Australia (2008 film) Soundtrack
Recurring motifs
Harold Arlen’s song “Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz (1939) — which is screened during the course of the story, as a new release — and Bach’s aria “Schafe können sicher weiden (Sheep May Safely Graze)” from the Hunting Cantata BWV 208 serve as recurring motifs in the film. The Arlen song bonds Lady Ashley and Nullah and relates to the Aboriginal concepts of Rainbow Serpent, Songs Lines, Dreamtime, and “magic men,” like Nullah’s grandfather and Nullah himself.
Additional music
David Hirschfelder composed the score. Interpolated musical numbers include the jazz standards “Begin the Beguine,” “Tuxedo Junction,” “Sing Sing Sing (With a Swing),” and “Brazil.” The final scene receives a lift from “Nimrod” from Edward Elgar’s “Enigma” Variations. Luhrmann hired singer Rolf Harris to record his wobble board for the opening credits, and Elton John composed and performed a song called “The Drover’s Ballad,” to lyrics by Luhrmann, for the end credits. (more…)