Cinema Nova Breaks House Record At Box Office

January 4, 2014 Dave 12 Years A Slave, Alexander Payne, All is Lost, American Hustle, August: Osage County, Blue Is The Warmest Colour, Blue Jasmine, Cinema Nova, Drinking Buddies, Gravity, Hayao Miyazaki, Her, In Bob We Trust, Inside Llewyn Davis, Kristian Connelly, Lygon Street - Si Parla Italiano, Martin Scorsese, nebraska, Paolo Sorrentino, Philomena, Robert Redford, Short Term 12, Spike Jone, Steve McQueen, The Coen Brothers, The Great Beauty, The King's Speech, The Railway Man, The WindRises, The Wolf Of Wall Street, Uncharted Waters

Movie loving Melbourne audiences have given Cinema Nova a reason to celebrate the start of 2014 by breaking the arthouse venue’s record for biggest week at the box office.

From Boxing Day to New Year’s Day (26/12/2013 – 1/1/2014) Cinema Nova enjoyed its highest grossing week ever at the box office, notably by screening upscale and arthouse features; a reassurance that Melbourne movie goers are not only interested in Hollywood blockbusters.

New and recent releases including PHILOMENA, THE RAILWAY MAN, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY and AMERICAN HUSTLE exceeded business expectations while Nova exclusives including SHORT TERM 12, DRINKING BUDDIES, LYGON STREET: SI PARLA ITALIANO, UNCHARTED WATERS and IN BOB WE TRUST captivated audiences intrigued by excellent reviews and strong word-of-mouth. Long-running audience and critical darlings GRAVITY (in its 13th week) and BLUE JASMINE (in its 16^th week) also attracted sizable crowds still keen to catch the likely Oscar candidates on the cinema screen.

The previous house record had been set in the first cinema week of 2011 when The King’s Speech commenced its extraordinary charge upon the local & international box office before going on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

Cinema Nova’s General Manager Kristian Connelly said “Over the past twelve months we have explored new filmic territory to great success. Audiences look to Nova to bring them an alternative to what is found at other venues while also providing a selection of the very best that international cinema has to offer, from Gravity and Blue Jasmine to Amour and Tim Winton’s The Turning. Having broken a house record last week without screening any of the top four films at the national box office augurs well for our unique approach.”

With a considerable number of quality releases already dated for release at the Carlton venue, international critic indications suggest the best is still yet to come. Spike Jonze’s futurist love story HER, The Coen Brothers’ folk musical INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS, Steve McQueen’s fact-based drama TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE, Paolo Sorrentino’s award-winning THE GREAT BEAUTY, Cannes Palme d’Or winner BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOUR, Robert Redford survival drama ALL IS LOST, Alexander Payne’s monochrome comedy NEBRASKA, Hayao Miyazaki’s animated THE WIND RISES and Martin Scorsese’s THE WOLF OF WALL STREET all release at Cinema Nova before the Academy Award winners are announced on March 3^rd, local time.

With exclusive releases accounting for over a quarter of all feature films playing a theatrical season at Cinema Nova in 2013, the iconic venue plans to expand upon its enthusiasm for unique stories, alternate content and cinema events in the year ahead.