Tarantino's latest film nabs Australian record, sparks 35mm revival

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Tarantino's latest film nabs Australian record, sparks 35mm revival

By Robert Moran

Quentin Tarantino has nabbed a personal best in Australia with his latest film – but perhaps more surprisingly, he's sparked an unlikely 35mm celluloid film revival while doing so.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood had the biggest opening of a Tarantino film ever in Australia, pulling in $6.7 million across 624 screens through its opening weekend, and $7.35 million in total as of Tuesday morning, a Sony Pictures spokesperson confirmed.

Brad Pitt, left, and Leonardo DiCaprio in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Brad Pitt, left, and Leonardo DiCaprio in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

The strong figures, however, belie a noteworthy wrinkle: much of the film's box office enthusiasm has stemmed from special 35mm screenings.

"It's been huge for us," says Zak Hepburn, general manager of the Astor Theatre in Melbourne, where the film's evening sessions across Thursday to Saturday, seating 1000 people per screening, were complete sell-outs.

The art deco cinema, which is projecting the film exclusively in 35mm, trails only Sydney multiplex Event Cinemas George Street, which is screening the film digitally, as the number one grossing site for the film in the country.

"It's been quite heartwarming to see audiences embracing that physical, celluloid element with this release," says Hepburn.

Margot Robbie plays Sharon Tate.

Margot Robbie plays Sharon Tate.Credit: Sony Pictures

Alex Temesvari, general manager of Sydney's Hayden Orpheum, says its 35mm sessions of the film have been "approximately six times more popular" than their digital sessions. The film trails just behind Tarantino's The Hateful Eight and Star Wars: The Force Awakens as the theatre's biggest movie openings ever.

The response at Sydney's Randwick Ritz has been similar: since Thursday, they've had three nights of back-to-back sell-outs of their 35mm sessions in a cinema with an 800-seat capacity. Manager Tim Yalizis says the enthusiasm around the film has exceeded that of recent 70mm releases for The Hateful Eight and Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk.

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"It's been far beyond... The demand for this title has been unprecedented," says Yalizis.

Quentin Tarantino at the film's premiere in Moscow this week.

Quentin Tarantino at the film's premiere in Moscow this week.Credit: AP

Tarantino's own insistence that the film be seen in 35mm has given such old-school movie houses an edge over their usual multiplex competitors.

"Whenever someone like Tarantino or Nolan releases a film on 70mm or 35mm, it most definitely increases the demand and awareness of the format and diehard fans and cinema enthusiasts do want to see those kinds of films the way those trusted directors recommend," says Temesvari.

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Reflecting the film's tone, the Astor, for example, has taken an "experiential" approach to its screenings, says Hepburn – piping in a jukebox playlist of songs released during its 1969 setting, and inserting old intermission adverts and film trailers from the era.

"There's some great symbiosis in seeing this film which is about old Hollywood in 35mm in an older-style theatre," he says. "There's a real awareness, it seems, that people are actively searching out that analogue experience versus its digital counterpart."

With Tarantino having previously suggested that his next film, his 10th, will be his last, there are hopes the new-found, wider enthusiasm for such classic film formats – and their Hollywood proliferation – won't retreat with him.

"There's a certain breed of filmmaker who will always champion 35mm – Paul Thomas Anderson, Christopher Nolan – so it's not something I think is contained to the work of Tarantino," says Hepburn.

"However, given this film's reached so many people in Australia via 35mm, it's a real testament to his reach and the interest in his work, and it's going to be very interesting to see if the interest in older technology can sustain... Hopefully number 10 is also on some form of celluloid."

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