Australian blockbuster movies

Abstract

Despite a preoccupation with Hollywood studio films in blockbuster studies, the blockbuster movie is not exclusive to Hollywood. Whilst the principal characteristics of the Hollywood blockbuster can take on new meaning in different national production systems, they nevertheless provide a useful framework for distinguishing ‘local’ examples. Drawing on blockbuster studies, this chapter delineates peculiarities in defining high-budget movies in the Australian context, and attempts to understand how high-budget movies are currently discussed in the literature on Australian international cinema. This chapter then examines high-budget Australian movies released between 2000 and 2015, including Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), The Great Gatsby (2013), Knowing (2009), Australia (2008), Happy Feet (2006) and Moulin Rouge! (2001), through the lens of their size and scale, superlative status, spectacle and release strategy.