The average gap between films being released in the US and locally is 20 days, despite claims from Village Roadshow that delays are the 'exception' The Lego Movie, which was distributed by Village Roadshow, was not released until two months after the US release. The head of one of Australia's largest film production and distribution companies has called the delay of movie releases in Australia a "rare exception", implying films are not usually released here later than in other countries. However, a comparison of film release dates shows the opposite. After the internet service provider iiNet pointed out a delay in the release of The Lego Movie, Village Roadshow co-chief executive Graham Burke told ZDnet: "The Lego Movie, with iiNet along with all the lies they tell, and they know they're telling lies, a lot of good decent people out there have a bunch of assumptions they believe to be correct [because of iiNet]. They know that Lego was a rare exception. The reason Lego was delayed [was] because it was an Australian film," he said.
"We made the decision to hold it off a couple of months until the school holiday break so kids could see it in the holidays, which is when they want to see it. That was a one-off. It's not an example of how films are delayed in Australia." Burke's comments are at odds with the common perception that it is normal for movies and TV releases in Australia to lag behind the US. So I decided to check how Australian release dates compare with US release dates. I took Box Office Mojo's list of top 100 movies by box office takings for both 2014 and 2013 for Australia and then added US release dates sourced from Box Office Mojo and IMDB. Although IMDB crowd-sources such information, I spot-checked some release dates against those on Australian cinema websites and found no discrepancies (though please mention in the comments if you see any errors). I removed any movies that had not been released in both countries, then took the remaining 168 films and calculated the difference in days between the two dates by subtracting the US release date from the Australian release date.
Positive numbers mean the film was released in the US first, negative numbers mean it was released in Australia first. On average, the film release dates for Australia were 20 days behind the US. Only 41 titles were released in both countries within a day of each other, and 20 were released in Australia before the US. Most titles, 107, were released in Australia only after they had been released in the US. Here's the full list of titles, sorted by the difference in days: Village Roadshow was contacted for comment on the analysis, but declined as Burke was unavailable. Edit: Fixed an incorrect date for Walking With Dinosaurs, which has shifted the average gap in release dates“The LEGO Batman Movie” is a tour de force. But if you oppose President Trump’s use of the White House as a cash machine, you need to boycott the opening weekend. If you’re upset that: a) Donald Trump is using the presidency to promote his daughter’s fashion business,
b) Melania Trump admits that she intends use her role as First Lady to seek “major business opportunities.” c) Incoming Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price profited from insider medical stock deals. d) Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and her extended family gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to Republican Senators who then voted to confirm her, Then here’s the latest oligarchic outrage to really stick in your craw: Here’s future Treasury Secretary and movie mogul Steven Mnuchin (left with Lousie Linton) at the 2015 premiere of "Jupiter Ascending." The biggest movie opening this weekend is “The LEGO Batman Movie.” And it’s executive-produced by Steve Mnuchin. Yes, the guy who is expected to be confirmed as Secretary of the Treasury on Saturday is about to have the greatest weekend since that raucous one at Bernie’s — and he can thank Donald Trump’s “billionaires only” cabinet and the movie-going public, which is expected to buy $60 million in tickets during the “LEGO Batman” opening weekend.
The lines between public service and wallet padding have been blurring since even before the Clintons rented out the Lincoln Bedroom and the Bushies made Halliburton an arm of government. But Trump and his itchy Twitter finger have brought it to a new level. So if you’re upset that he’s turning the White House into a cash machine for his cronies, you have only one choice this weekend: Boycott “The LEGO Batman Movie.” President Trump has no qualms about using his office for personal gain. It pains me to write that. After all, my review of the Will Arnett movie last week was a four-star rave. “The LEGO Batman Movie” will give parents and kids enormous pleasure this weekend and forever. But it will also make a rich man even richer — and put him further away from the Americans he will start serving once he’s sworn in. And while you’re at it, you’ll have to stop downloading other Mnuchin-produced films as “Sully,” “American Sniper,” “Black Mass,” “Mad Max: Fury Road,” “Edge of Tomorrow,” the original “LEGO Movie” or “Batman v. Superman” (OK, no worries there;
NO ONE is paying to see that!). And you’ll have to skip dozens of future movies that Mnuchin’s company, RatPac-Dune, has in the pipeline with Warner Bros., with whom it inked a $450-million financing deal in 2013. Mnuchin’s role as movie moneyman didn't come up at his Jan. 19 confirmation hearing, which stuck mostly to his purchase — and profitable re-sale — of a failed bank during the 2008 housing crisis, and his failure to disclose $100 million in overseas investments to allegedly avoid taxes. Tom Cruise in “Edge of Tomorrow” (left) and Tom Hardy in “Mad Max: Fury Road” — two of Steven Mnuchin’s legacy films. Mnuchin is certainly rich. But that’s no crime; pretty much all Secretaries of the Treasury have been really really rich, which suggests that the “treasury” in question isn’t the nation’s but their own. But I digress (not!). And I’m not objecting to the fact that a Hollywood executive producer will become the steward of our nation’s finances.