‘Heart of the Beast’ Roars to Number One at the New Zealand Box Office

Kiwis have fallen hard for Heart of the Beast.

The Brad Pitt-led survival thriller opened in New Zealand cinemas this weekend, taking an impressive $800,000 at the local box office and landing at number one for the weekend, ahead of competing releases including Resident Evil and the re-release of Avengers: Endgame.

Directed by David Ayer, Heart of the Beast stars Pitt as retired Special Forces Staff Sergeant James Belmont, who finds himself stranded in the Alaskan wilderness alongside Odin, his retired combat dog, following a devastating plane crash.

And if our recent review is anything to go by, audiences aren’t simply turning up for the action.

At the centre of Heart of the Beast is the deeply affecting relationship between Belmont and Odin, with the film combining survival-thriller intensity with a surprisingly tender exploration of loyalty, trauma and the unbreakable bond between a soldier and his best friend.

That emotional connection appears to be resonating strongly with Kiwi audiences, with Heart of the Beast playing across everything from major multiplexes and boutique cinemas to smaller community theatres throughout the country.

There’s also a distinctly Kiwi connection to the film. Much of its rugged wilderness setting was brought to life in New Zealand’s spectacular South Island, standing in for the Alaskan interior and providing an appropriately wild backdrop to Belmont and Odin’s fight for survival.

Check out the full review for Heart of the Beast here, and see it in cinemas NOW.

Image: Paramount Pictures