A sci-fi military action movie made in Victoria has exploded at the home box office, topping Netflix film charts around the world.
The battle between an angry giant alien machine and a group of army recruits on a rigorous Ranger’s training program has hit the mark with streaming audiences.
War Machine was released on March 6 and debuted as the No. 1 English film in 93 countries with 39.3 million views, according to figures released by Netflix on Wednesday.
US actor Alan Ritchson, best known for the TV series Reacher, plays the plucky recruit on whom falls the responsibility to save the world.
“It is exploding across the world and audiences seem to be devouring the film, which we are very excited about,” an ebullient Patrick Hughes, who directed the film, said when CBD caught up with him in Melbourne.
Born in Black Rock and trained at the Victorian College of the Arts, Hughes is a Melbourne success story.
“It has global reach and that was the plan, to bring big Hollywood budget action films with big spectacle and big entertainment here to film,” he said.
“We shot it all on location with real-world stunts and put in a tremendous amount of hard work and it is paying off.”
War Machine was filmed at Victorian locations including Bright, Myrtleford, Werribee, the RAAF base in Laverton and the Docklands Studios, with backing from VicScreen and the state government.
Along with Ritchson, the film features US actor and golf fanatic Dennis Quaid, Jai Courtney, Blake Richardson, Keiynan Lonsdale and Daniel Webber.
VicScreen acting chief executive Liahn Nortjé said the film was a winner for Victoria.
“Written, directed and produced by Victorians and made right here in Victoria by our highly skilled crews, War Machine demonstrates that Victoria’s screen industry is among the best in the world,” he said.
Minister for Creative Industries Colin Brooks said the War Machine production created more than 2100 jobs and injected $73 million into the Victorian economy, including $7.5 million in regional areas.
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Fiona Byrne is the CBD columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
