Boy a hit at Kiwi box office

CAMERA, ACTION: Taika Waititi at work on Boy.

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Kiwi film Boy has blitzed the box office, leaping to the number one spot in just four days.

Written, directed and starring Wellingtonian Taika Waititi, Boy raked in $607,471 - nearly twice as much as Alice in Wonderland, in second spot.

The film is set on the rural East Coast during the 1980s. It tells the tale of Boy, Rocky and their inept wannabe gangster father Alamein.

It was inspired by Waititi's Oscar-nominated Two Cars, One Night and his own childhood in Waihau Bay.

Boy opened on Thursday and made $109,370 on its opening day - more than any other Kiwi films has before.

On opening day, Waititi wrote on Twitter: "I'm going to stop being irreverent & sarcastic & silly for just a sec and say I'm seriously STOKED at the mad awesome reviews for my BOY."

Dominion Post reviewer Graeme Tuckett gave Boy four out of five stars.

"Boy is terrific; both as a film to enjoy, and as a film it is easy to under-estimate the depth of. Everyone involved should be proud of what they have made."

The film also stars James Rolleston, Te Aho Eketone-Whitu and Cohen Holloway.

Waititi is currently in the United States where he has joined the cast of fellow New Zealand director Martin Campbell's Green Lantern.

New Zealand box office for March 25 – March 28:

1.          Boy ($607,471)

2.          Alice in Wonderland ($365,250)

3.          How to Train your Dragon ($347,351)

4.          The Bounty Hunter ($163,532)

5.          Green Zone ($143,280)

6.          Mao's Last Dancer ($138,234)

7.          Law Abiding Citizen ($49,803)

8.          Avatar ($46,778)

9.          The Men Who Stare at Goats ($45,703)

10.      Remember Me ($36,541)

- © Fairfax NZ News