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Even Pirated Version of Australia Fails to Find Success

Posted on Sunday, December 28th, 2008 by David Chen

Those who listen to our movie podcast know that I’m a fan of Baz Luhrmann and of Australia (go here to hear our review with the Scene Unseen podcast). I was disappointed and disheartened by that film’s poor box office performance; according to BOMojo, its production budget was $130 million, but it’s only taken in a bit north of $43 million domestically. Australia had a lot of problems, but I felt like Luhrmann was bold to tell the story how he did and I’ll take Luhrmann’s failures over successful studio pablum any day. Apparently, mainstream audiences don’t agree with me.

Neither do pirates. The Sydney Morning Herald recently reported that illegal copies of Australia have begun showing up on BitTorrent sites. Despite this, though, the demand for these copies appears to be low, primarily because people may not even be willing to watch a pirated movie that’s almost three hours long and that received lackluster reviews. Also, the copies are “CAMs,” which are low-quality copies made by someone bringing a camcorder into the theater. While it’s good to hear that piracy isn’t torpedoing the film’s box office receipts, it’s sad that this in some way indicates how few people really want to watch this movie.

The thought of someone watching Luhrmann’s epic on a small computer screen with crappy quality sends a shiver down my spine. Don’t pirate Australia! Go see it in theaters. If there’s one movie this season that deserves the big screen treatment, it’s this one (plus maybe Benjamin Button).

Source: Sydney Morning Herald via Gawker

Discuss: What did you think of Australia? Did it deserve its box office fate?

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  • Kevin
    I don't k now if it's good or bad news but Slumdog Millionaire hit the BitTorrent sites earlier this week in DVD Quality and is quite a popular download.... Not sure if this is good or bad considering it's such a good movie in a limited release this might let a wider audience appreciate it...
  • Of course it's bad! No good movie deserves to be pirated. It's a catch-22 in that, yes, if it were put out in a wider release, more people would see it, BUT, to actually do that and have it be financially successful, less people would need to pirate it to begin with.

    And I honestly think blaming a limited release is never an actual excuse for pirating. That's just what everyone says to try and justify illegally watching a movie!
  • Ben Nadler
    I think that a limited release is a pretty fair excuse, simply because a lot of people don't have access to it unless they BitTorrent it. If you live in the middle of nowhere, there's a high chance that the closet movie theater to you is only going to have a few screens and it will play only the highest profile movies.

    So, for someone who wants to see Slumdog but can't, pirating may be the only way. I'm not saying that is good or acceptable, but they are simply screwing themselves over when they make such a good movie but don't allow everyone to see it.
  • Precisely one of my circumstances. I traveled 2.2 hrs to see DK in IMAX and that's an extreme luxury. Any limited release would be at least 1+ hr away from me, something I'm not willing to do.
  • larry
    Eugh.

    Alex, you're a film critic and you live in a major city, I imagine, right? Of course you don't sympathize with anyone who downloads illegal torrents of films.

    Nevermind that, unless it's a wide release, my town (see? town. not city) will never see 90% of the films I enjoy. Just as an example: last year, the only movie my theater played that i enjoyed was Juno. Saw it three times in theaters.

    What about my co-favorite films of 2007? NCFOM and TWBB. What did I have to do to see those films? Drive 2.5 hours to a theater to see them both (which i did, but only because i was in the city...not specifically for those films). If there's a screener of a film that i want to see online.... and there's no screening of it in my local theater... i will download it 10/10 times. And if the film is great, I'll end up purchasing it.

    But you are correct, in that some people just blame limited release to download. But for those of us who actually love film, and can't get enough of it, downloading smaller films/art house films is sometimes the only way to get that fix. And waiting 'til DVD isn't an option. If everyone is talking about Slumdog right now, why would I want to wait 5 months to see it?
  • i agree with Alex, I think film piracy is horrible. THose people worked hard to make a film, they deserve their money. and I refuse to see a pirated film on such crappy, poor quality. Fuck piracy. I'll glady pay 10 bucks to see a good movie in a cinema, thanks
  • ANGRY, you obviously haven't downloaded a Torrent recently. Because of digital transfers, the quality tends to be damn good. DVD quality perfect , in fact. Yes, even the standards of pirates has improved.

    A good example for me justifying downloading a film is Zack & Miri. I'm a huge Kevin Smith fan, and will see anything of his in a heartbeat. In the US, Zack & Miri has been and gone, and reviews are everywhere. I had to really struggle to avoid reviews and comments from people containing spoilers that might ruin the viewing experience for me. I checked my local listings (Australia)... nothing. Nothing, in fact, until January 15. WTF! I'm not waiting THAT long to see a brand new Kevin Smith film, ESPECIALLY when I enjoy surfing related sites and am undoubtedly going to have it accidentally spoiled as a consequence. As soon as a DVD quality version was available, I downloaded that entire film in about 2 hours. I watched it with friends, we laughed and thoroughly enjoyed it.

    As soon as the DVD drops, I'll buy it (because I know Kev will pack it with features). But because of such a ridiculous delay (we usually share your release dates over here, if not the day before...) I felt forced to watch it by any means necessary in order to not have the film spoiled for me.
  • Elissa
    I loved Australia! I thought it was bold and unique and certainly worth 3 hours of my time. The word "epic" comes to mind, and it seems like a complete shame to watch it at home on DVD, much less as a crappy PC pirated version.

    Even though the film sort of fell apart in the last 30 minutes (how many close calls, false endings and unbelievable coincidences can one movie watcher take?!), it deserved many more positive reviews that it received.

    P.S. I'd like to think that the people who take the time to follow this blog love movies enough not to run over to BT and illegally download *any* film.
  • I didn't love it, but it was definitely a good and enjoyable movie.
  • Ok, You want a REAL reason WHY no one's downlaoding the pirated version? BECAUSE THE QUALITY SUCKS! Your article made me find a sample of that version and it's quality is so bad, that it's not even watchable. When a great quality comes out, THEN it will be downloaded.
  • In less than 10sec I found a screener and rip. Oh, and this article didn't make you do anything. You searched on your own volition.
  • Cerisier du Japon
    Yeah I found one too and a screener for Milk.
  • Cufford
    Another insightful commentary on how pointless "movie reviewers" are. People decide for themselves what they like or do not like, and yet the author again presumes that because HE liked it, most people should.

    This is proved week after week every year at the box office. The arrogance of "professional movie critics" is astounding..
  • Correlation doesn't equal causation. I base almost all my media consumption on reviews and word of mouth.
    What critics are you referring to? I didn't find David arrogant at all.
  • /filmluvsbaz
    it's kidman's fault. she kills. i dug the movie.
  • johnny Boy
    The CGI landscape shots are enough for me to keep away from this movie. Why the hell would you CGI that? It's totally unnecessary and even worse, just a really bad choice on the part of the production
  • Zinc
    nah brah, I'm good.
  • Renaissance Man
    I'm a huge Baz fan, but from the moment I saw the trailer, I was not the least bit interested. The film (again, from the trailer) felt like it was forcing its epic-ness on me instead of feeling genuinely so. Then when the bad reviews kicked in, I decided to stay away. I'm sure I'll give it a go on blu-ray though.
  • I really like the film and put it on my years top ten!


    Chuck
  • I think the last time I watched a 'CAM' version of a film was around ten years ago in a Spanish Bar! I still can not believe people spend hours downloading (600/700mb) barely watchable films, where's the enjoyment in trying to make out what's happening in a theatre from a theatre screen from your own chair inches from the monitor? On 'Australia', Baz is technically a brilliant film-maker and like all his other films I, one of the fair few, enjoyed 'Australia'.
  • I had some interest in seeing it, but I just never got around to it. Having only little interest in seeing it, I didn't check reviews ahead of time.
  • Eric T. Voigt
    Australia deserves what it's gotten. Baz consistently takes on melodramatic stories and makes a really good show of making them look great, but what he makes look great is not great. His stories are boring. He direct his actors poorly, with the exception of Ewan McGregor in Moulin Rouge. I just don't think he has it in him to succeed in his wild ventures.
  • Poppe
    I really did not know people actually liked austraila... I walked out of the film thinking this movie would tank. I even went as far to say that the Happening was a better film. Perhaps it is my fault though for thinking this way. I mean the trailer made the movie look like it had a good story, identifiable characters, and would at least be epic.

    I thought everyone agreed with me too, since on opening night at the end of the movie all I heard was "Worst movie of all time" "I can't believe I paid for this movie" "I told you it was going to be stupid. I told you I didn't want to go see this"
  • Dave, while I understand that you're trying to sympathize with Australia and give it even more love, all this is going to do is cause more people to pirate it. Anytime mainstream media writes about pirating, even just to say how shocking it is to see something occurring in such mass quantity, all it does is further support the act. Now people are aware that an Australia rip exists and they may take the time to watch it now. I wish there were other ways you could sympathize and support the movie without further encouraging its failure...

    But you know what, I hate Fox, so screw it, they don't deserve any money!
  • Good point Alex, but with Gawker and the Sydney Morning Herald already reporting this story, I'm fairly certain the horse is already out of the barn on this one.
  • Australia was so much better than its middling box office would indicate. In a perfect world, it would make more than HSM3 or Saw V, but this is the world we live in.
  • i havent seen Australia yet so I can't say. I might be able to watch it next weekend, though. and no i will NOT watch any pirated films!!!
  • I loved this guy's comments that critics "don't get it" and that's why the movie's reviews stunk. Perhaps its the movie?
  • Owen
    I just got back from watching Australia and really liked it. But then what do I know - I only have my own opinion.
  • With the pic up above and the title, I am not surprised the film didn't do so well. I still want to see it, but none of the marketing has persuaded me to shell out some cash.
  • iProtestant
    i liked australia. good flick but that one song, a favorite, was a little overused. beautiful photography, too.

    come on, everyone should know by now that downloading is not piracy! it's sharing, and a legitimate business model that the studios have yet to recognize as the future.
  • I'm not sure if sharing can be a business model but you are correct, it is sharing.
  • iProtestant
    sure it is. just ask radiohead or trent reznor.

    http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20081121/0323212...
  • Seven14
    I will see it when it comes to Home Video (Rental), I would not pay to see this at theater as it just doesnt interest me that much, other than maybe a home viewing. As far as your Pirating comments, the only people who download cams are retards who can't wait. I surmise you will see real traffic when a true DVD Screener hits the scene or there is a high def encode available. Otherwise Cam rips are for the chumps.
  • luke
    australia is an abomination and should not be watched by anyone. Lurmann jumped the shark and should have to do community service to repay all the australian tax payer money he wasted on this piece of rubbish. Some of the worst special effect ever scene in a film with this size budget. Seriously, drive 'em home drover?? fuck that shit..
  • I haven't gone to see Australia for one main reason: It's fucking 3 hours long. I simply can't afford to spend what ends up being 4 hours (including travel, ticket purchase etc) to see what I hear is a mediocre film. I have to find time to make cinema trips (not to mention the budget approval for the missus), so I must choose films wisely. This did not qualify. And I'm 100% pure born and raised Australian. Says a lot about how much we give a fuck about this flick.
  • Testify, brother.
  • Matt
    I liked Australia - it was riddled with a few historical inaccuracies, but still was enjoyable. It may go for 3 hours, but I didnt find myself looking at my watch throughout.

    Everyone in my cinema seemed to enjoy it coming out. Maybe its only us here that are actually in Australia that get it because of its historical significance to us?

    It deserves better than what it got that's for sure!
  • I will probably never watch this film.
  • Michael
    I waited with baited breath for Australia to come around. Finally it hit out town and I made a day of it. The fact is, it started well although the "speeding" technique used the first 30 minutes [the same trick they use in infomercials to create intensity] drove me nuts. However after a while it slipped back to real motion and since Jackman is amazing it worked for me, even with Nicole. Right up until the bad guys lit the fire and the Cattle went every direction. In a 2 minute span the clearly CGI Enhanced background went from Night, to Day, to Night, to Day, to Night and finally 1/2 way in between by the time the little guy stood at the edge of the cliff. I was dizzy from the sky flipping back and forth, although they did doctor it up and darken the lower part of the shot to try and blend them together. That was it for me, and from that point bad acting from the 45 year old "shell" of what Nicole Kidman used to look like started to wear on me. Anyway, I never made it to the end, so be it.
  • Michael
    I just went over my notes again, here's my problem with the movie, in a nutshell. It's just under an hour into the movie, and it's "supposed" to be approx 3am with the old guy playing the harmonica, and the little kid talking with him. Suddenly the bad guys throw a branch with fire into down on to the cattle which lights up like napalm in nam. Suddenly the cattle run towards the camp towards Hugh and the rest of them [WHICH IS BACK INTO THE CANYON] then the 3 camera pull shows the cattle running the other direction and pans out into a blue sky, like they are in Alaska and it's 20 hours of daylight there [which there isn't] and the rest of the shot looks like the middle of the afternoon, until the end when the little guy stops the cattle on the edge of the cliff. I mean there's suspension of disbelief and then there is a Director thinking we won't notice he [a] Couldn't get a good night shot of cattle running or [b] we are too stupid to notice. How about [c] He needs to stick to songwriting and find a hobby.
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