Sam Kelly’s debut feature, Savage, has taken the top spot at the New Zealand box office, from Christopher Nolan’s big-budget Tenet.
Since being released by Madman Entertainment on 97 screens on Thursday, Savage has taken over $450,000 at the New Zealand box office.
“Savage is a beautifully complex and powerful film and I’m so pleased that such a challenging film is drawing New Zealanders back into cinemas. Congratulations to director Sam…. and producer Vicky Pope and their team,” said NZFC CEO Annabelle Sheehan.
“We are so humbled by the New Zealand public’s response to the film,” said producer Vicky Pope. “It’s been an eight year journey for the director Sam Kelly and I to develop and produce the film, but along the way we’ve been supported by many incredible individuals across investors, our distributor Madman, crew, cast, and most importantly, the community in which this story is centred. All of those people have contributed to the fabric of the film and helped weave it into a great piece of New Zealand cinema. It’s been such a challenging time with COVID-19, but I’m so pleased to see the New Zealand public going back to cinemas to watch New Zealand stories on screen! That makes me very proud that we’re supporting the cinema exhibition industry with content made locally.”
Written and directed by Sam Kelly and produced by Vicky Pope, Savage was inspired by true stories of New Zealand’s street gangs across 30 years and follows Danny at three critical moments of his life as he grows from a boy into the violent enforcer of a gang.
Savage also released theatrically in the UK on 10 September and is ranked in the Top 20. Savage will release in Australia on 8 October 2020 by Madman Entertainment. Worldwide sales are handled by Film Constellation.
Savage was made with investment by The New Zealand Film Commission with support from Avalon Studio Productions, Park Road Post Productions, Film Constellation and Fulcrum Media Finance. Savage is produced by Vicky Pope and executive produced by Bill Trotter, William Watson and Brian Kelly. The film is distributed in New Zealand and Australia by Madman.
New Zealand films financed by the New Zealand Film Commission still to be released in 2020 are:
Baby Done: 22 October 2020
Reunion: 5 November 2020
Six60: Till the Lights Go Out: 26 November 2020
In cinemas now are:
The Girl on the Bridge
Lowdown Dirty Criminals
This Town