At last The Return Of The King - the epic adventure that features fabulous New Zealand scenery - has been overhauled at the home box office. All-action newcomer The Last Samurai - another epic adventure that features fabulous New Zealand scenery - topped the takings (NZ$629,295) and the screen averages (NZ$8,504 from 74 screens) leaving the final chapter of the Rings trilogy just short of the NZ$10m mark after 5 weeks. Spy Kids 3D - Game Over had the second highest screen average, at NZ$7,779 from 48 screens.

Fox's Good Boy!, the only other new entrant in the Top 20, made little impact in a generally downbeat weekend: though there was a surprise reappearance at Number 18 on its 51st week of release by Whale Rider - the small-budget, psychologically-epic adventure that features some fabulous New Zealand scenery. Its total home box office take for just under 12 months reached an outstanding NZ$6,432,999.