Box office: Australia accepts Sandra's Proposal

Bullock is boffo, but Black and Cera are bust

by | June 22, 2009 | Comments

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Proof of the power of the cougar-com in this season of blockbuster action and man-movies, Sandra Bullock’s The Proposal mirrored its US success and wooed Australian audiences to debut at number one at the box office. Who knew she still had the star power?

The rom-com, which co-stars Ryan Reynolds, charmed up a healthy $4 million for the week, ousting The Hangover from the top and wiping out the other big new release, the Jack Black-Michael Cera comedy Year One. Harold Ramis’ ramble through ancient times drew largely scathing reviews — including a deeply unimpressed one star from David Stratton — and landed in third place, suffering a similar fate to Will Ferrell’s recent low brow/high concept comedy Land of the Lost.

Despite strong reviews from local critics, new Australian film Disgrace — starring John Malkovich — had to be content with opening at number 11, drawing in a little over $200,000 in receipts.

Expect them all to be decimated by the onslaught of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which opens this week.