Australians in Hollywood update

Aussie actor Chris Hemsworth joins the cast of the Ghostbusters reboot; Furious Seven director James Wan announces his next move; and Mad Max: Fury Road dominates the global box office.

There’s no slowing down the Aussie contingent in Hollywood lately. From director James Wan’s two new features, Chris Hemsworth’s latest gig and the juggernaut that is Mad Max: Fury Road, it’s a huge year for Australians globally.

After the gargantuan Furious Seven, one of the most successful films of all time*, Aussie director James Wan announced last week that his next two features will be Warner Brothers’ Aquaman, and Sony’s Robotech.

Actor Chris Hemsworth joins the cast of Paul Feig’s highly anticipated Ghostbusters reboot** which is famously flipping gender roles. Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones and Kate McKinnon take over the lead ghost-hunting roles previously played by Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson, while Hemsworth will play the paranormal sleuths’ receptionist previously played by Annie Potts.

Meanwhile George Miller’s Mad Max reboot is now the third-highest grossing Australian film at the global box office. Mad Max: Fury Road has taken US$334 million worldwide as of early June putting it in third place behind Happy Feet ($384m), The Great Gatsby ($351m) and Crocodile Dundee ($328m).***

And while Mad Max was dominating the box office around the world, its runner up and in a close second place was Pitch Perfect 2, starring Australian comedienne Rebel Wilson. ***