Starring Teresa Palmer, the film tells the incredible true story of Michelle Payne, the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup in 2015, at odds of 100-1. At the time, she was the only female in the race and just the fourth woman to ever ride in the Melbourne Cup.
Opening at number 1 on Thursday, the film is continuing its race towards towards the record books, currently on track to become the highest grossing Australian film of 2019.
The weekend takings were $1,684,858 with a cumulative total of $2,377,731.
The film follows Payne from her childhood as the youngest of 10 children (eight of them are jockeys) with a single dad (Sam Neil), through to her attempts to gain a foothold as a jockey in a male-dominated sport.
It’s a fascinating rite-of-passage story for a brave and determined heroine, who has dealt with naysayers all her life.
Richard Payton and Andrew Mackie from Transmissions Films, a Sydney based film distribution and production company, believe the weekend results put Ride Like a Girl in a class with many of the biggest and most loved Australian films.
And we’re off and racing!
Ride Like A Girl the incredible true story of Michelle Payne starring Teresa Palmer, Sam Neill & Stevie Payne is now showing in cinemas across Australia. Head to https://t.co/GVCRhTUhTz for session times. #RideLikeAGirlMovie #JoinTheRide pic.twitter.com/oayl0VEyUm— Transmission Films (@transmission) September 25, 2019
“That audiences have embraced Ride Like a Girl during a competitive school holiday period, against major studio releases, is a testament to Michelle Payne’s inspiring story and the wonderful storytelling by the makers of this crowd-pleasing hit.”
“We’re hearing feedback from cinemas of standing ovations and grown men crying.”
