If you’re in two minds about what to watch this week, whether at the cinema or curled up on the couch, here are some suggestions.
At the cinemas, Practical Magic 2 bewitched Australian audiences over the weekend, debuting at number one with $2.25 million and a cumulative box office of $2.99 million including advance screenings, according to the latest HOYTS box office report. The Odyssey held firm at number two for a ninth straight weekend, adding $1.3 million to bring its total to $65 million, while Spider-Man: Brand New Day landed in third with $1.24 million, pushing its overall haul to $85.6 million.
PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie debuted at number four with $1.01 million ($1.67 million including advance screenings), and Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger, the documentary following the band’s 2025 reunion tour, rounded out the top five with $481,000. The top 10 films accounted for 82% of the national box office over the weekend, with fantasy and romance leading the genre charge on the back of Practical Magic 2’s debut.
New releases hitting cinemas this week include Resident Evil and Forgotten Island (both September 17), Coyote Vs. Acme and the 40th-anniversary re-release of Transformers: The Movie (September 17), and Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom, opening in Queensland and Victoria from September 17 before rolling out nationally.
Meanwhile, HOYTS is continuing its rollout of SCREENX across its cinema circuit, with three new locations set to open before the end of the year. The immersive 270-degree panoramic format will launch at Wetherill Park and Green Hills in Australia, while Sylvia Park will become HOYTS’ first SCREENX site in New Zealand.
This expansion builds on the successful debut of SCREENX at HOYTS Broadway, as well as its continued popularity at HOYTS Blacktown and HOYTS Melbourne Central. The new auditoriums will let more moviegoers experience next-level immersion, with imagery stretching beyond the main screen onto the side walls.
HOYTS Group CEO and President Damian Keogh said the ongoing rollout reflects strong guest demand and the company’s continued investment in innovative big-screen formats. He pointed to positive guest feedback as a key driver behind the new openings, and spoke to the excitement of bringing the experience to more audiences in Australia and, for the first time, New Zealand. He described SCREENX as a distinctive way to watch a film, with panoramic visuals wrapping around the auditorium to pull viewers into the centre of the action.
CJ 4DPLEX CEO Jun Bang called the New Zealand debut a significant milestone for the company, noting that SCREENX effectively turns the cinema itself into part of the storytelling, and expressed enthusiasm about welcoming more audiences across both countries into the format.
The expansion also lands at a lively moment for cinema fans, with several major blockbuster releases lined up for the rest of the year — giving audiences even more incentive to catch their next film on the big screen at HOYTS.
On streaming, Prime Video has released the official trailer for Carrie, an eight-episode Original series from showrunner Mike Flanagan reinventing Stephen King’s classic novel. All eight episodes launch October 7 in more than 240 countries and territories. Summer H. Howell stars as Carrie White, cast after a search of nearly 1,500 actors, alongside Samantha Sloyan as Margaret White, Siena Agudong as Sue Snell, and Matthew Lillard as Principal Grayle, with Stephen King serving as executive producer alongside Flanagan.
Meanwhile, BritBox Australia has added Kate: A Life in Pictures, a new documentary tracing Catherine, Princess of Wales’s journey through photography, from her first meeting with Prince William at university to the present. The film arrives as royal watchers turn their attention to reports that Prince George will attend Eton, and follows Catherine’s recent public return following her cancer diagnosis.
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