Australia (2008 film)

Australia is a 2008 epic romantic historical drama film directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. The screenplay was written by Luhrmann and screenwriter Stuart Beattie, with Ronald Harwood and Richard Flanagan. The film is a character story, set between 1939 and 1942 against a dramatised backdrop of events across northern Australia at the time, such as the bombing of Darwin during World War II.

Production took place in Sydney, Darwin, Kununurra and Bowen. The film was released to cinemas on 26 November 2008 in the United States and in Australia on 26 December 2008, with subsequent worldwide release dates throughout late December 2008 and January and February 2009. Australia received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $211 million on a $130 million budget. The film received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design at the 81st Academy Awards. It is the third highest grossing Australian film of all time, behind Crocodile Dundee (1986) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).