Recorded/Estimated Wordwide Gross

$26.37 / $28.10

US Actual: $20.77 / 73.9%

Intl Est.: $7.32 / 26.1%

Recorded/Estimated Admissions Wordwide

4.1M / 4.3M

US Actual: 3.20 / 74.6%

Intl. Est: 1.09 / 25.4%

Worldwide Release History

308 Days / 841 Theaters*

Average Gross/Week: 454,577

First Released: 05/01/03 Last Seen: 03/04/04

* as many as, tracking

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Website:
Trailer:

Synopsis: On the east coast of New Zealand, the Whangara people believe their presence there dates back a thousand years or more to a single ancestor, Paikea, who escaped death when his canoe capsized by riding to shore on the back of a whale. From then on, Whangara chiefs, always the first-born, always male, have been considered Paikea's direct descendants. Pai, an 11-year-old girl in a patriarchal New Zealand tribe, believes she is destined to be the new chief. But her grandfather Koro is bound by tradition to pick a male leader. Pai loves Koro more than anyone in the world, but she must fight him and a thousand years of tradition to fulfill her destiny.

Comment: Based on Witi Ihimaera's novel.

SBD Review:

Other Reviews:

• Alternative Melbourne
• Australian News Network
• Boxoffice Magazine
• E! Online
• Film Journal International
• L.A. Daily News [3/4]
• L.A. Weekly (Ernest Hardy)
• New York Daily News (Jami Bernard)
• New York Post (Lou Lumenick) [3/4]
• Premiere Magazine
• The Hollywood Reporter
• The Sydney Morning Herald
• Video Reviews with Joan Ellis
• Village Voice (Michael Atkinson)