UIP's Australian release of Gladiator took the top prize at the Australian Box Office Achievement Awards due to it's hefty A$30m gross. UIP and rival distributor Buena Vista International (BVI) each released seven of the 22 films that reached the all-important A$10m mark during the 12 months to June 30.

UIP chair and chief executive Paul Oneil told the 730 delegates on the third night of the Australian International Movie Convention that the film has now grossed more than $235m worldwide - and performed better per capita in Australia than any other territory in the world. It is still screening on 44 screens after 14 weeks in the Australian charts.

BVI's top film, The Sixth Sense, was not far behind with A$29.2m. The distributor earned A$108.7m from its seven blockbusters, which was A$13m behind UIP, an impressive achievement for a distribution entity that was launched only 18 months ago.

Just two films from the only locally-owned distributor of US studio films, Roadshow, scraped into the field of 22, a direct result of Disney's decision to directly handle its product in Australia. The only other Australian distributor to take home an award was REP for The Blair Witch Project.

Columbia TriStar had four films among the 22, lead by Stuart Little, compared to none among last year's 17 films, an example of how quickly fortunes can change. It also won the award for the highest grossing foreign-language film with Run Lola Run, which grossed A$1.7m.

The Wogboy was the only film distributed by 20th Century Fox to gross over A$10m and it was also the only local film in the select group. The 22 films represent nearly half of the total gross box office for the 12-month period.

Films grossing more than A$10m in Australia
(12 months to June 30, 2000)

UIP: Total gross A$121.7m
Gladiator (A$29.9m)
Mission: Impossible 2 (A$22.1m)
American Beauty (A$18.6m)
American Pie (A$14.2m)
The World Is Not Enough (A$14m)
The Green Mile (A$12.8m)
Double Jeopardy (A$10.1m)

BVI: Total gross A$108.7m
The Sixth Sense (A$29.2m)
Toy Story 2 (A$20.1m)
Dinosaur (A$13.3m)
Gone In 60 Seconds (A$12.9m)
Runaway Bride (A$11.8m)
Tarzan (A$11.2m)
Deuce Bigalow (A$10.2m)

Columbia TriStar: Total gross A$61.5m
Stuart Little (A$19.8m)
Erin Brockovich (A$16.9m)
Big Daddy (A$14.7m)
Bicentennial Man (A$10.1m)

Roadshow: Total gross A$20m
End Of Days (A$10m)
Perfect Storm (A$10m)

20th Century Fox: Total gross A$11.3m
The Wogboy (A$11.3m)