The New Zealand film-maker scores a local hit with his second feature after Eagle Vs Shark.

Taika Waititi’s coming-of-age comedy Boy has become New Zealand’s second biggest local independent opener of all time, outperforming such hits as Whale Rider and The World’s Fastest Indian.

The film took $430,874 (NZ$607,471) from 55 screens over the four days up to Sunday night making it the weekend’s strongest performer. It is just behind Chris Graham’s Sione’s Wedding, which sold NZ$631,842 worth of tickets in 2006, but it is predicted that Boy will pass it by this coming weekend.

“This result is fantastic,” Andrew Mackie from Sydney-based distributor, Transmission, told ScreenDaily. “The film is playing young and old across all demographics, the anecdotal word of mouth feedback is very positive, it’s had great reviews, and with Easter this weekend the film is set up to play on for a long time.”

The film stars James Rolleston in the title role Boy, an 11 year old kid who loves Michael Jackson and believes his father is a hero until he meets him. Waititi, who is also known as Taika Cohen, plays Boy’s father. It has already picked up the grand prize for best feature in the Generation sidebar at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.

James Thompson, head of sales and marketing at sales agent NZ Film, said that audience interest has been stoked by teaser campaign that was launched back in December. It included social networking sites, such as Facebooj, a dedicated website (www.boythemovie.co.nz) and ancillary site (www.crazyhorses.co.nz), alongside the release of a full-length trailer in February, advance screenings and five-star reviews from both the mainstream and alternative media.

Boy was produced by Ainsley Gardiner, Cliff Curtis and Emanuel Michael. It was financed by the New Zealand Film Fund, NZ Film Commission, Unison Films, NZ On Air, Maori Television Station and Te Mangai Paho.

New Zealand’s three biggest independent local hit are The World’s Fastest Indian (Beckers, 2005), which grossed NZ$7 million, Once Were Warriors (Footprint, 1994) and Whale Rider (Buena Vista, 2003).

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