News.com.au

Neala Johnson

The Sapphires has enjoyed the best opening for an Australian movie in almost two years, taking $2.32 million at the box office last weekend.

The feel-good musical drama about an all-girl Aboriginal singing group sent off to Vietnam to entertain the troops has put a sparkle into an otherwise dull 2012 at the local box office, pulling in the biggest crowds since teen action film Tomorrow When the War Began opened with $3.86 million in September 2010 and beating the $1.78 million debut of last year’s runaway success story Red Dog.

The Sapphires’ total gross now sits at $2.59 million, with distributor Hopscotch/eOne expecting it to reach $3.4 million by the end of the week.

“The reports we’ve been getting from cinemas is people applauding after each session,” said Troy Lum, managing director of Hopscotch/eOne. “Word of mouth seems to be very strong, so we hope the film is going to have really good legs.”

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