When is a box office record not a record? When you have to release your film at midnight on Thursday so Australians don't see the film before Americans.
So it was for the science fiction blockbuste Matrix Reloaded, The (2003), which did everything but record the biggest Australian opening weekend ever.

The movie shot in Sydney and starring Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss had the biggest Friday of all time ($4.1 million), biggest Saturday ($3.85 million) and biggest opening three-days of all time. Nearly 900,000 Australians saw the film.

But it was not the biggest opening weekend in Australian history. That honour still belongs to The Lord of the Rings The Two Towers, which earned $14 million last year.

"We're still absolutely thrilled considering it was a Friday opening," said Phil O'Neile, Village Roadshow's national marketing manager. "It earned almost $2 million more than The Two Towers did over Friday, Saturday and Sunday".

The Matrix Reloaded's $11,070,000 also fell short of Star Wars: Attack of the Clones $11.97 million opening weekend.

The Daily Telegraph

Source: Press Release