James Rolleston as Hongi in The Dead Lands.
Maori warrior action film The Dead Lands has topped the local box office in its first week on release.
The film starring James Rolleston and directed by Toa Fraser grossed $306,564 on its opening Thursday to Sunday weekend, topping Brad Pitt World War II movie Fury which made $264,217 on
its second weekend of release after opening with a take of $402,202.
The biggest performing New Zealand film of the year so far has been Taika Waititi's vampire spoof What We Do In the Shadows, taking $2.7 million at the cinema.
Rolleston's other 2014 movie, The Dark Horse, finished its 11-week cinema run last month with a local gross of $1.93 million.
But both films are a long way short of Waititi and Rolleston's breakthrough drama comedy Boy which remains the local all-time box office champ with its gross of $9,237,976.
