The new Aussie film Paper Planes broke the magic million dollar barrier on its opening weekend and landed a very impressive second place on the list of top-grossing films at the box office after raking in $3.3 million in its first week.
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It was film inspired by a Canberra story of two mates who launched an adventure with a few sheets of A4 paper and landed at the World Paper Planes Championships in Austria.
Australian director Robert Connolly (Balibo, The Turning) said when he saw James Norton and Dylan Parker featured on ABC's Australian story he knew their story had all the right ingredients to make a cracker film.
"The idea that a piece of paper and your imagination could have such amazing impact and be so much fun really stuck with me," he said.
"I've loved that Australians have raced out to see it and that people have embraced it as much as they have."
Connolly said the film had taken more than $6 million at the box office since its launch on January 15 – a proud moment for the Australian film industry up against summer blockbusters such as Paddington Bear and Annie.
Stacked with cast of Australian stars including Sam Worthington, Deborah Mailman, David Wenham and Peter Rowsthorn, Paper Planes is an uplifting story of a young boy Dylan and his journey to compete in the world paper planes championships.
Paper Planes premiered at Toronto International Film festival in 2014 and Connolly said he was proud the film's young leads Ex Oxenbould and Julian Dennison would travel when it screen at the Berlin International Film Festival in February.
James Norton said he was thrilled the family drama inspired by his story had taken off.
"We know that its [a] good story but its great that other people think the same thing. Its gratifying and humbling as well."
New to the movie business Norton said when he heard investors were dancing in their living rooms the morning after the opening – they knew things were going well.
Norton and Parker transformed their playful paper planes partnership into Paper Pilots – a business that sees the pair sharing their passion for paper planes at music festivals, primary schools and even nursing homes.
"We get to talk about the fun of flight and all the principles that making a paper plane brings to problem solving and procedural literacy," he said.
"Its amazing how one thing has led to another. Paper Pilots led to us making a 10,000 paper planes project with artists down in Melbourne, then the Australian Story, the movie and designing all the planes for the film."
The pair are working toward publishing a book filled with the impressive plane designs they created for the movie.
"Everyone has an attachment to paper planes, everyone has been taught one and passes down designs to others," he said. "Making paper planes is a really accessible and universal activity and I think that's part of the reason the film has been so successful."
Whispers of a sequel to the Aussie family drama have already begun to circulate but Connolly said it was too early to comment.
"I'll have to have a think about it," he said. "There is so much interest but its pretty great that people are already asking about a sequel after only two weeks in release."
