Ned
Rides High
Daily Telegraph
03 April 2003
Who would have guessed Ned
Kelly would open at No.
1? After blanket coverage, the biopic starring Heath
Ledger and Naomi Watts performed well, not as blockbuster-ish
as some might have liked. Still, it's the third biggest
opening weekend for an Australian film, behind Moulin
Rouge and The
Dish. The Bodey Line surmises it'll play
for a few weeks though, as different demographics slowly
make their way to the multiplexes. Anything that keeps
Daredevil from the top spot is a good thing though.
Big surprise was the boffo opening for the Jet Li
starrer, Cradle 2
the Grave. With the highest per screen
average of the weekend, it's further validation of
the fact film critics have no impact on broad films.
One film that has deservedly received great crits,
24 Hour Party People, had the second best screen average.
Most of the Oscar nominees did good biz, Best Picture
winner Chicago getting a second wind, up 28 per cent
on last week, as was Bowling
for Columbine. |
Steve
Hart descendant Paul O'Keefe has alerted me to yet
another ridiculous Kelly Gang claim (the latest in a line
of many). Not just content to see Dan escape, this time
around Steve also made a bolt from the Glenrowan Inn
fire (so why was Ned heading back when they had both left?).
Lucky Steve also headed north where he lived a long and
happy life in Queensland under the name of Billy Meade. Apparently
this Meade character confessed about his double identity
on his deathbed in 1938. Well, in that case, it
