Taika Waititi's golden touch has continued after he was at the helm of biggest box office earning film in New Zealand for the second year in a row.
Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok raked in $7 million in ticket sales during its 2017 release in Kiwi cinemas, ahead of Beauty and the Beast with $6.5 million and Star Wars: The Last Jedi with $5.85 million, the Motion Pictures Distributors' Association (MPDA) says.
Dunkirk and Moana rounded out 2017's top five earners followed by films, such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, Despicable Me 3 and Wonder Woman.
Waititi also enjoyed spectacular success with his 2016-directed Hunt for the Wilderpeople.
That film was not only 2016's biggest earner with more than $12 million in ticket sales, it helped drive a record New Zealand box office taking in that year of $206,605,000.
Total takings last year fell slightly to $189,660,000, the MPDA said.
"Given the runaway success of Hunt for the Wilderpeople in 2016, we were not at all surprised to see a return to normality in the 2017 box office here," association chair Peter Garner said.
