23 01 2017 - Media release 2016 Year in Review and 2017 Preview
FEATURE FILM
Today the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia (MPDAA) released the finalised 2016 box offices figures, confirming Hacksaw Ridge was the highest earning Australian film, taking $8.2m in the calendar year. As of 23 January 2017, Rentrak reports the film has taken $205m globally, including an incredible $77m in China alone. Australian films took $24m at the local box office in 2016, equating to a 3.8% three-year rolling average share, below Screen Australia's stretch target of 4.5% - a result which was expected in a year that included international juggernauts like Finding Dory and Star Wars.
Along with Hacksaw Ridge, summer has proved a busy time for Australian film, with RED DOG: True Blue bringing in $6.9m locally as of 23 January 2017. Lion, which has already made $28m overseas since premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, earned $748,805 on its opening day alone (19 January 2017) in Australia and has become the fifth highest earning opening weekend Australian film at the local box office, taking more than $5m.
The popularity and critical success of Australian screen content both locally and overseas is a tribute to the exceptional talent of our local industry which we now know is worth $3 billion a year, said Graeme Mason, CEO of Screen Australia.
The mix of stories told demonstrates how globally-facing our industry has become, with Australians just as capable of telling a blockbuster war drama like Hacksaw Ridge as an offbeat comedy like Girl Asleep. It's also becoming common that even our smaller films will reach an overseas audience, such as The Daughter which played at an outstanding five international festivals, including Venice and Toronto, came in third at the local box office (despite opening on just 52 screens), and ended up taking 29% of its 2016 box office overseas.
Undoubtedly timing played a big part in 2016's box office result, with Lion being released overseas before it was released in Australia and RED DOG: True Blue only in cinemas for six days in 2016. The fact Lion went to number one on its first day in Australian cinemas is a fantastic result, kicking off a year that includes hotly anticipated titles like Jasper Jones and Simon Baker's directorial debut in Breath.
Also noteworthy is that of the 12 documentaries released in 2016, three now rank in the top 10 grossing Australian documentaries (excluding IMAX) of all time - Sherpa, Embrace and Chasing Asylum, all directed by women.
2017 is on track to be a busy year for Australian film with titles including Jasper Jones, Breath, Sweet Country, Three Summers, Cargo, Flammable Children, The Nightingale, Hotel Mumbai and Jennifer Peedom's (Sherpa) new documentary Mountain all expected to hit cinemas. Also due for release is documentary Casting JonBenet and feature film Berlin Syndrome, which have both recently been acquired by Netflix, and are among the Australian selections for the prestigious Sundance Film Festival this month, with Casting JonBenet also screening at Berlin International Film Festival in February.
TELEVISION
Combined 28-day consolidated TV ratings figures for metropolitan and regional areas reported by OzTAM and RegionalTAM show the five highest rating Australian dramas on free-to-air television for 2016 each attracted an average of 1.5 million viewers or more across the entire series. These included target="_blank"Molly (Seven) with an audience of almost 3 million (metro, 2 million), followed by Wanted (Seven) at 1.9m (metro, 1.2m), The Doctor Blake Mysteries series 4 (ABC) at 1.7m (metro, 1.1m), The Secret Daughter (Seven) at 1.6m (metro, 1m) and Doctor Doctor (Nine) attracting 1.5 million viewers (metro,965,000).
At a time when there has never been more choice available across free-to-air, catch-up platforms, subscription television and streaming services, the fact that each of the top five Australian television dramas were watched by at least 1.5 million people is an exceptional result, said Graeme Mason. Despite exponential growth in the volume and availability of overseas content, the appetite for home-grown stories is only increasing.
Following a record year for Australian television drama in 2015-16, which saw 58 titles in production, audiences can look forward to an abundance of Australian shows in 2017. In this year's crop there will be a host of biopics including Hoges: The Paul Hogan Story (Seven), Blue Murder: Killer Cop (Seven), House of Bond (Nine) and as yet untitled works on Olivia Newton John (Seven) and Shane Warne (Seven). The Wrong Girl (Ten), The Secret Daughter (Seven), Cleverman (ABC), The Family Law (SBS) and Top of the Lake (Foxtel) will all make welcome returns with second seasons, and the iconic Wake in Fright (Ten) and Picnic at Hanging Rock (Foxtel) will be reimagined for television. Hotly anticipated documentaries including Ice Wars (ABC), Filthy Rich and Homeless (SBS) and My Year 12 Life (ABC) will also hit screens.
DIGITAL ORIGINALS
Digital originals continue to be core to Screen Australia's business with the likes of Aunty Donna's 1999 becoming Skip Ahead's most-viewed project ever with almost 2.4 million views. Several digital brands saw their work transferred to television in 2016, including The Katering Show season 2 (the most watched ABC iview original ever), Starting From Now and Wizards of Aus.
Production values also continue to increase, with comedies like Little Acorns, Bruce, Fancy Boy and Wham Bam Thank You Ma'am being stand-outs in 2016, while Australian online talent including The Racka Racka (3.5 million subscribers) and SketchShe (850,000 subscribers) forge global careers.
Although the four-year Multiplatform Fund that has fuelled our digital content to date ends in June 2017, we are
Asia, Australia & Oceanic Stories
07/08/2026
Opening Statement: Public hearing of the Inquiry into Racism, Hate and Violence ...
06/08/2026
Screen Australia and YouTube Australia fund five new teams through eleventh Skip...
04/08/2026
SBS helps Australians understand why every Census counts
Media releases
As Australia prepares for the 2026 Census on Tuesday 11 August, SBS is helping ensur...
30/07/2026
Premiere date revealed for SBS Original drama The Airport Chaplain, starring Hug...
29/07/2026
SBS Appoints Chief Commercial Officer and Director of Marketing and Audiences
29 July, 2026
Media releases
SBS is pleased to announce the appointment of Ni...
29/07/2026
Applications open for IFFI/WAVES Film Bazaar in Goa - Producer Delegation 28 July 2026
Image credit: Four Years Later
Screen Australia has opened applications...
23/07/2026
NITV launches new By Mob For Mob series in partnership with NRMA Insurance
23 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has launched ...
23/07/2026
Screen Australia announces new national documentary accelerator program 23 July 2026
Screen Australia has today announced the Above the Line Documentary Accel...
21/07/2026
SBS scores biggest ever FIFA World Cup Reach as Spain triumph in the final
21 July, 2026
Media releases
Spain v Argentina attracted a Total TV reach of al...
17/07/2026
Legendary presenter Anton Enus to sign off from SBS World News after 27 years wi...
17/07/2026
Millions rise before dawn to watch FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-finals on SBS
17 July, 2026
Media releases
England v Argentina attracted a Total TV reach of a...
16/07/2026
NITV and SBS bring Australians to the heart of Garma
16 July, 2026
Media releases
The Garma Festival returns from 31 July-3 August, with NITV and SBS deliv...
14/07/2026
Techtel Successfully Relocates AICD Broadcast Studio to New Sydney Headquarters
BroadcastBroadcast EquipmentLive StreamingBroadcast Studio2026
14 July Writ...
13/07/2026
Millions tuned in for quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2026 on SBS
13 July, 2026
Media releases
Norway v England attracted a Total TV reach of 3.7 mil...
09/07/2026
SBS statement Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion
9 July, 2026
Media releases
SBS acknowledges the gravity of the matters before the Roy...
08/07/2026
Well over half of Australia have tuned in to watch the FIFA World Cup on SBS
7 July, 2026
Media releases
Australia's Round of 32 match against Egypt a...
08/07/2026
SBS and Koorie Heritage Trust announce three-year partnership to celebrate First...
08/07/2026
The right team. The right time.' How The Killings at Parrish Station stuck t...
08/07/2026
Australians in Film and Screen Australia launch FUTURE VISION Forward to elevate...
07/07/2026
New appointments to Screen Australia board 7 July 2026
The Albanese Labor Government has made new appointments to the Screen Australia board.
Dr Tania Chamber...
07/07/2026
The right team. The right time.' How The Killings at Parrish Station stuck t...
06/07/2026
Techtel debuts insyght: making ST 2110 media discovery easy
intellisphereinsyght2026
6 July Written By Suzanne Costello
Sydney, Australia - 06 July 2026 T...
03/07/2026
Caden Pearson appointed new Commissioning Editor for NITV
3 July, 2026
Media releases
National Indigenous Television (NITV) has strengthened its commitment...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia backs audience-led filmmaking with new insight-driven initiativ...
02/07/2026
Screen Australia refines guidelines for Narrative Content Development and Docume...
01/07/2026
Groundbreaking First Nations Screen Business Accelerator launched through nation...
30/06/2026
Statement regarding GetUp Save Our SBS' campaign
30 June, 2026
Media releases
The GetUp Save Our SBS' campaign is an independent initiative. SBS ...
27/06/2026
A record 4.84 million Australians choose SBS as the Socceroos advance at FIFA Wo...
25/06/2026
The Name You Know, The Lineup You'll Love - SBS2 Returns
25 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS Viceland rebrands as SBS2 on Friday 21 August, bringing the c...
23/06/2026
Australians in Film and Screen Australia's talent development initiative UNT...
22/06/2026
FIFA World Cup 2026 fever grows, as more than one third of Australians tune in ...
18/06/2026
Techtel delivers Haivision live streaming system for TAFE NSW St Leonards, enabl...
16/06/2026
Australians place growing trust in SBS News
16 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS has been recognised as one of Australia's most trusted news providers, ran...
16/06/2026
Share your views on Screen Australia and the future of the industry 15 June 2026
Your feedback matters.
Following the instrumental insights provided in 2025,...
16/06/2026
Techtel Supports T-Motion RCCP-2A Controller Upgrade for Major Australian Broadc...
15/06/2026
4.78M AUSSIES TUNE IN FOR SOCCEROOS WIN OVER T RK YE ON SBS
15 June, 2026
Media releases
Match had a Total TV average audience of 3.035 million, with over ...
15/06/2026
SBS Head of Commissioning John Godfrey to depart after 18 years
15 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS Head of Commissioning John Godfrey will depart the broadca...
15/06/2026
Techtel Completes Media Production Setup for a major AFL sporting organisation
Sports
15 June Written By Suzanne Costello
(Sydney, Australia 15 June 2026)...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
11/06/2026
Australian Games Industry Glossary of Terms 10 June 2026
From DAU and EULA to COT and QADE, here's a list of game industry terms, industry jargon and their...
10/06/2026
Alone Australia Season 4: Meet the Cast
10 June, 2026
Media releases
WATCH THE TRAILER
Smash-hit survival series Alone Australia drops its highly anticipa...
10/06/2026
DEADLY THEN, DEADLY NOW, DEADLY ALWAYS: SBS & NITV IGNITE NAIDOC WEEK 2026 WITH ...
04/06/2026
Is Your Job Making You Work this June?
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS Launches the World Cup Watchers' Rights Association to Stand Up For Australians&...
04/06/2026
Statement regarding unauthorised use of SBS logos on third party social content
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS has become aware of social media posts in c...
03/06/2026
Clarification: SBS's position on definitions of antisemitism
3 June, 2026
Media releases
Statement by Mandi Wicks, SBS Director of News and Current Aff...
03/06/2026
Do not read this media release! Andy Lee's smash-hit show returns to ABC thi...
01/06/2026
SBS confirms its broadcast sponsors for FIFA World Cup 2026
1 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS has secured Hyundai, Hisense, Macca's, Rexona, bet365, Com...
28/05/2026
Get fit for the FIFA World Cup 2026 with new SBS On Demand features for the ult...
28/05/2026
Six films, one unmissable collection. First Facts documentaries debut on 10 Stre...
23 01 2017 - Media release 2016 Year in Review and 2017 Preview 
