The Australian horror film Talk to Me is on its way towards a second blockbuster weekend in the US, after making it into the top 10 box office earners since opening across 2,340 American cinemas a week ago.
Following the film’s opening weekend, Talk to Me doubled its predicted takings in the US, from US$4-5m to US$10m, placing it in fifth position.
Talk to Me trailed Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, now in its third week, by just US$1m.
The surprise hit, written and directed by the Adelaide brothers Danny and Michael Philippou (known to their 6.74m YouTube followers as RackaRacka), may yet topple Crocodile Dundee as the highest grossing Australian film in the US of all time.
The 1986 comedy, which was intentionally made for an American audience, grossed US$8m in its opening weekend, or about $22m in today’s money.
After screening at the Sundance film festival in January, Talk to Me, produced by Australians Samantha Jennings and Kristina Ceyton from Causeway Films (The Babadook), became the subject of a bidding war, with indie film studio A24 securing the movie.
Set in Australian suburbia, the film follows a group of teenagers who play a twisted party game with an embalmed hand, which allows them to become possessed by the dead.
Talk to Me has recorded the most impressive opening weekend box office figures for A24 – know best for its Academy Award-winning films Moonlight and Everything Everywhere All At Once – since Midsommar four years earlier.
Unlike Barbie and Oppenheimer, which have had the might of the Hollywood publicity machine behind them, Talk to Me’s popularity appears to have been generated solely by positive reviews and word-of-mouth, Variety reported.
The Washington Post described the film as an “ingenious combination of horror and human connection” and the Hollywood Reporter hailed it as “a welcome splash of new blood on the horror landscape”.
On Friday, the Adelaide film festival stepped up to claim its part in Talk to Me’s success. The film received funding from the Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund (AFFIF) .
“Talk to Me exemplifies the films and filmmakers the AFFIF supports – bold and innovative storytelling, a striking use of screen language and a strong creative team that brings cultural and economic benefits to South Australia,” said Mat Kesting, the festival’s chief executive and creative director.
“When Danny and Michael pitched the film, we couldn’t resist their dynamism and clear creative intent.
“There was no doubt that this was a filmmaking duo with an incredible future – and, by investing in their first feature and premiering the film at the 2022 Adelaide Film Festival, we are proud to have played a role in elevating them to the world stage.”
