Australia (2008 film)

Australia
Australian theatrical release poster
Directed byBaz Luhrmann
Screenplay by
Story byBaz Luhrmann
Produced by
  • Baz Luhrmann
  • Catherine Knapman
  • G. Mac Brown
Starring
CinematographyMandy Walker
Edited by
Music byDavid Hirschfelder
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dates
  • 18 November 2008 (2008-11-18) (Sydney)
  • 26 November 2008 (2008-11-26) (Australia and United States)
  • 26 December 2008 (2008-12-26) (United Kingdom)
Running time
165 minutes
Countries
  • Australia
  • United Kingdom
  • United States[1]
LanguageEnglish
Budget$130 million[2]
Box office$211.8 million[2]

Australia is a 2008 epic adventure drama film directed by Baz Luhrmann[3] and starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. The screenplay was written by Luhrmann and screenwriter Stuart Beattie, with Ronald Harwood and Richard Flanagan. The film is a character story, set between 1939 and 1942 against a dramatised backdrop of events across northern Australia at the time, such as the bombing of Darwin during World War II.

Production took place in Sydney, Darwin, Kununurra and Bowen. The film was released in cinemas on 26 November 2008 in Australia and the United States and on 26 December 2008 in the United Kingdom, with subsequent worldwide release dates throughout late December 2008, and January and February 2009, by 20th Century Fox.[4] Australia received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $211 million worldwide.

On 26 November 2023, Faraway Downs, an extended version of the film presented in the form of a six-episode mini-series, debuted on Disney+ in Australia and Hulu in the US.[5]

  1. ^ "Australia (2008)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 31 May 2016. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Australia (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  3. ^ Michaela Boland (28 August 2008). "Nicole Kidman's 'Australia' Pushed Back". Variety. Archived from the original on 30 August 2008. Retrieved 29 August 2008.
  4. ^ "Australia (2008) – Original Release". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Everything We Know So Far About Baz Luhrmann's 'Faraway Downs'". 28 October 2023.