'Australia'? Never heard of it

November 19, 4:14 PMLA Film ExaminerRebecca Ford

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Fox

It’s just two weeks away from its release, and nobody knows–or cares–about “Australia,” according to Advertising Age.  Only 60 percent of people polled even knew of the film. Among those, only 29 percent expressed interest in seeing the film.

The sweeping epic, starring Australian actors Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman is set to open on November 26. In it, on the brink of World War II, an English aristocrat (Kidman) travels to the faraway continent, where she meets a local (Jackman). She reluctantly agrees to join forces with him to save her land. 

So what happened?

Are the beautiful shots of Australian scenery not enough? Or the award-winning actors? Maybe the film hasn’t gotten enough exposure. Or maybe it’s because the previews don’t really tell you much about what’s going on other than it’s war time and Nicole Kidman’s character doesn’t want “them” to win, whoever they are. Maybe no one relates to Australia except Australians. Who knows.

But the country of Australia hopes award-winning director Baz Luhrmann’s film will spark a tourism craze heading down-under, according to the AP.  Tourism Australia, the national tourism board, launched a $26 million international advertising campaign based on the movie.

In two weeks, maybe the film will take the box office by storm, but for right now, it looks like all they may get is a whole lot of disappointment.