Here’s a stat that should bother everyone in the Australian screen industry: domestic films accounted for roughly 4% of total box office revenue in Australia last year. Four percent. In a country that spends hundreds of millions of dollars supporting local film production through tax offsets, direct funding, and state agency programs.

I’m not writing this to be defeatist. I love Australian cinema, and I’ve dedicated a good chunk of my professional life to covering it. But we need to be honest about the gap between what we make and what Australians actually go to see.

The Distribution Problem

The most obvious issue is distribution. Australian films rarely get wide releases. A typical local feature might open on 30-50 screens nationally, compared to 500+ for a Hollywood tentpole. That’s not necessarily the distributor’s fault. Cinema chains make rational economic decisions, and when a screen can be filled with the latest Marvel film or a sequel audiences are already primed for, giving that screen to an Australian drama is a hard sell.

But here’s what frustrates me: some Australian films that do get decent releases still underperform. The audience just doesn’t show up. And that points to something deeper than just screen count.

The Marketing Gap

Australian film marketing budgets are a fraction of what Hollywood spends. A local feature might have $50,000-$200,000 for its entire marketing campaign. A Hollywood film spends more than that on a single billboard campaign in Sydney. The playing field isn’t just uneven. It’s practically vertical.

Social media has helped somewhat. Some Australian films have built genuine grassroots interest through targeted campaigns on Instagram and TikTok. But organic social reach is declining across every platform, and paid advertising in the film space is increasingly expensive.

Genre Perception

There’s a persistent perception among Australian audiences that local films are depressing, slow, and set in the outback. It’s a cliche and it’s mostly wrong, but perceptions are stubborn things. When someone’s choosing between a Friday night at the cinema with mates, an Australian drama about intergenerational trauma doesn’t compete well against the latest action comedy.

The genres where Australian films do work commercially are horror, comedy, and family films. Think what the likes of Talk to Me achieved internationally. Horror travels well, and Australian horror in particular has developed a strong reputation. But our drama output, which is often our strongest critical work, struggles to find commercial audiences.

The Streaming Question

Streaming has changed the equation in complicated ways. On one hand, platforms like Stan have become significant investors in Australian content. Stan Originals have given some local films and series a visibility that theatrical release alone couldn’t achieve. Netflix and Amazon are also picking up Australian titles more frequently.

On the other hand, streaming has trained audiences to wait. Why see something in cinemas when it’ll be on a platform in a few months? This behaviour hits Australian films especially hard because they don’t have the event-film quality that drives opening weekend urgency.

What Could Change

I don’t think there’s a single fix, but there are things that could make a difference. Better marketing support from funding bodies. Earlier involvement of distributors in the production process. More genre diversity in what gets funded. And frankly, a more honest conversation about what audiences actually want versus what the industry thinks they should want.

Some of the most commercially successful Australian films of the last decade have been ones that embraced genre, had strong hooks, and were marketed with genuine energy. That’s not selling out. That’s respecting the audience enough to meet them where they are.

The 4% figure won’t change overnight. But pretending it’s not a problem, or blaming audiences for not being sophisticated enough, isn’t going to help anyone. We make great films in this country. We just need to get better at making sure people actually see them.