What happened to Australia's film industry?

Did you know that the first ever feature length film was shot in Melbourne Australia? The infamous shootout between Ned Kelly and Dan Kelly and the police led to the production of the Story of the Kelly Gang in 1906. Various production houses wanted to re-enact their versions of what took place at the Stringybark Creek in October 1876. Although the police banned the Kelly Gang films in 1917, it led to the growth of the Australian film industry. The story is pretty interesting, as much as you like playing on the freebonuscode.co.nz today.

The failure of the Australian film industry.
Australian film industries are one of the most recognized in the world. However it cannot be compared with the likes of Hollywood although there are some famous stars from Australia who have made it big in Hollywood; Rebel Wilson, Nicole Kidman, Cate Blanchett, Liam, and Chris Hemsworth. Although these stars are making it in Hollywood films, their homeland movies never make it past its shores. Over the last decade, Australian movies have grossed under 5% at the box office. Also, very few of them have made it to the box office. Avatar which was released in 2009 made a gross of $115 million at the box office. Other films which have made it big include Happy Feet, The Crocodile Dundee, Australia, and Babe.

What could be the problem with the Australian film industry?
There are a few characteristics which can be used to describe a typical Australian movie; depressing, tragic, poor scripts, delicate subject matter, and low budgets. Filmmakers are overly obsessed with comedies that fail miserably, and this cycle keeps on repeating itself. These are all some of the few reasons why the Australian film industry is failing, but there is a core reason why these films never make it beyond the shores; distribution.

According to studies, 65% of movies made in Australia are seen through DVD due to poor distribution. If you take a look at an industry such as Hollywood they go big in ensuring that a movie such as Game of Thrones or the Avengers; Endgame will have a massive audience. The movie industry in Australia is not that bad - other Industries are worse but the former lags in distribution especially in theatrical releases.

However, the times and the audiences are changing. There are very few people who are going to the cinema these days due to the introduction of streaming apps and services. If Australia can adopt new paths of distribution such as online, then more people will see their movies. For instance, The Tunnel, which is an occult horror movie, was distributed through crowdfunding. It was primarily released in torrent sites, and it made huge profits. If distribution becomes a critical factor in producing films, then Australia will continue to compete globally.

Published August 26, 2019