Oz annual B.O. falls 3%

SYDNEY -- Overall Aussie B.O. slipped 3% to A$1.09 billion ($1.14 billion) in 2011 with U.S. pix taking a 82% share, according to statistics released by the Moving Pictures Distributors Assn. of Australia on Monday. Local pics slid to just 4% of total B.O. with one pic, "Red Dog," accounting for half of the takings; the feelgood pic about a dog in a rural community scored $22.3 million while overall local B.O. was $45 million. There were 44 local titles in the marketplace vs. 192 Stateside releases, the highest grossing of which was "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" with $39.6 million. Blighty's "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" was the top pic overall with a boffo haul of $55.6 million. In a year where film was down, Screen Australian acting topper Fiona Cameron pointed to homevid as a highlight. "In 2011 there were 24 local films that completed their first release after screening in cinemas on video, online and television," said Cameron. "Together these films have achieved 72.7 million views thus far, above the annual average of 47.7 million viewings over the last three years." Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com