The science fiction movie District 9, which features a huge alien space ship hovering over Johannesburg, earned about R2m in its opening weekend in South Africa, Beeld newspaper
reported on Tuesday.
Ster-Kinekor marketing manager Corlize Luttig said this was the highest earnings for an opening weekend in SA, for a movie with an age restriction of 16, since The Passion of the Christ in 2004.
“Movies with high age restrictions usually start with a handicap. It is normally difficult for these films to attract full theatres. Also, science fiction is not everybody’s cup of tea,” said Luttig.
Worldwide, District 9 has earned about R714m and was the top movie in its opening weekends in the US, Australia, Russia and New Zealand.
Luttig said it was probably a combination of patriotism and its overseas success that drew SA audiences. “People tend to think that when a movie was locally produced, the quality is not good. But then people saw that the movie did very well overseas, which made them believe that it was on par with international standards,” said Luttig.
District 9 tells the story of aliens living in Johannesburg and how authorities decide to relocate them to District 10, in a haunting reminder of apartheid, layered with symbolism that only South Africans understand.
The movie was produced by Peter Jackson, who made Lord of the Rings, and directed by SA-born Neill Blomkamp. — Sapa
