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 only become a much bigger industry in the last ten years, with "Sanctum" being the 10th biggest Australian film in US box office history, thanks to its exceptional 3D technology and exquisite photographs. "The Sapphires", which also had a strong impact on Australian viewers, did not reach the gross production capacity at the US box office. The Australian film industry is in crisis because, without Australian films having a minimum impact on Australian viewers, the money used to make the film will not have benefited from the tickets purchased to see the film itself. 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 the reasons why and how the Australian film industry went through a crisis in filmmaking . 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 were 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 leading 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 struggled to compete with the American film industry by having a much domestic market. larger. the most successful Australian actors and filmmakers such as Hugh Jackman...... middle of paper ......e different types of films but also the types of films produced by Australia. As I pointed out in this essay, many factors come into play when a film industry may be in crisis, such as competition with similar industries, financial support needed to have the necessary technology and equipment to the creation of a film. While these factors may be true, globalization has made this possible, thanks to Australian studios being more affordable to American directors. This then gives Australians the open doors needed to create a sophisticated film, even if it is an Australian American film. As Rowley explains, “over the last five years he has moved towards more 'local' films, which are aimed at the Australian market and feature recognizable everyday settings. Engagement with Hollywood genres often remains, but is no longer done in an attempt to slavishly imitate Hollywood.’. (1998)