A FOUL-mouthed, drug abusing plush toy destroyed James Bond and every single one of The Avengers at the Warrnambool box office last year.
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The results are out on what Warrnambool lined up to see with some predictable and some surprising titles.
At the top, Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane’s first feature film, Ted, snared more than 8000 movie goers, making in the most popular film of 2012.
Capitol Cinema manager Greg Gent said the 106-minute long comedy about the teddy bear with a weakness for alcohol and prostitutes proved to be an unexpected hit.
“It was rated MA…because it had a limited release that number was quite amazing,” Mr Gent said.
He said people repeatedly came back to see the film during its two-month run on the screen.
Coming in at second to save the world, for reasons that weren’t properly explained but ultimately didn’t matter, was The Avengers.
Over the course of the past couple years, audiences have become acquainted with the Iron Man series, Thor, Captain America and the Incredible Hulk.
“There was a lot of hype in the build up,” Mr Gent said.
But their combined superpowers were enough to pull 6000 through the doors.
Third place was shared by films that proved age is no barrier when it comes to combat.
Skyfall saw a dishevelled, greying James Bond beat off a sexually-ambiguous cyber villain, while The Hunger Games provided arguments for the introduction of a teenage curfew.
Both squeezed on to the bronze platform with more than 5000 each.
Number four was the biggest surprise, claimed by Australian film The Sapphires about an all-Aboriginal music group touring for troops during the Vietnam War, which sold more than 4500 tickets. “It was a good result, people just kept coming back to see it,” Mr Gent said.
“The enduring appeal was a bit of a surprise.”
The final instalment of the Twilight saga drew a somewhat lifeless response from followers.
“Ticket sales were a bit disappointing, but that was a film for the fans only.”
Meanwhile, the queues have been spilling out on to Kepler Street for The Hobbit, while an adaptation of a modern classic — Life of Pi opened yesterday.
“The Life of Pi is probably the next big one — it’s directed by Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain).”
Quentin Tarantino’s latest feature Django Unchained will also reach the cinema on January 24.
