The Australian film industry has existed since October 1896. The first feature film, in 1906, was "The Story of the Kelly Gang". Australian cinema has become a much bigger industry over the last 10 years and 'Sanctum' is the 10th biggest Australian film in US box office history with its exceptional 3D technology and exquisite cinematography. 'The Sapphires', which also had a strong impact on Australian viewers, fell short of grossing capacity at the US box office. The Australian film industry went into crisis because without Australian films having minimal impact on Australian viewers, the money used to make the film would not profit from the tickets purchased to see the actual film. In this essay I will explain how 'Sanctum' and 'The Sapphires' can be used in reference to the crisis in the Australian film industry and explain how and why the Australian film industry has entered into a crisis in film production. The history of Australian cinema has been described as a period of “boom and bust” due to the unpredictable and repetitive nature of its industry; there have been deep holes when few films were made for decades and high peaks when an oversupply of films hit the market. The 1990s proved to be a successful decade for Australian cinema and introduced new stars to global audiences such as Toni Colette and Eric Bana in his first major role. The Australian film industry continues to produce a reasonable number of films each year, but unlike all other English-speaking countries, Australia has almost always had difficulty competing with the American film industry by having a much larger domestic market. ample. most successful Australian actors and directors such as Hugh Jackman......middle of paper......and different types of films but also the types of films that Australia produces. As I have pointed out in this essay, when a film industry may be in crisis, many factors are taken into consideration, such as competition with similar industries, financial support to have the technology and equipment to create a film. While these factors may be true, globalization has made this possible, as Australian studios are more convenient for American filmmakers. This then gives Australians the open doors needed to create a sophisticated film even if it is an American-Australian film. Just as Rowley explains, “over the last five years, we have focused on more 'local' films, which target the Australian market and feature recognizable everyday settings. Engagement with Hollywood genres often remains, but is no longer done in an attempt to slavishly emulate Hollywood’. (1998)