Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Star Wars make it a record breaking year at the local box office

Some of the top 10 movies of 2016 at the New Zealand box office

Official box office takings have revealed that Wilderpeople helped make 2016 a record-breaking year.

The Motion Picture Distributor's Association of New Zealand has today revealed that in 2016, the local box office made $206,605,000. This was a 6.8 per cent increase on 2015, which previously held the record with $193 million.

"While 2016 was dominated by the phenomenal success of Hunt for the Wilderpeople, we were delighted to see consumers enjoyed a wide spread of quality content across many genres," the MPDA Chariman Peter Garner said in a statement.

The biggest film at the box office was Hunt for the Wilderpeople, which stormed to the top with $12.18 million, making it the top local movie of all time.

The Taika Waititi-directed picture starred Sam Neill and Julian Dennison and has proved a success overseas, raking in $33 million at the global box office on a budget of just $3.6 million.

The story of Ricky Baker was not the only success this year. After a 13-year wait, Dory and friends swam their way into the number two spot: Pixar's Finding Dory managed to find $7 million at the box office, making it the biggest animated film of the year.

The seventh Star Wars movie, The Force Awakens, topped the box office in 2015, earning over $9 million in December alone. However, it was also the third-highest-grossing movie in New Zealand last year, earning a further $5 million in 2016, which makes it the second-biggest movie ever released in New Zealand.

Spinoff Rogue One also proved a success, earning $4.6 million and becoming the ninth-highest-grossing movie of the year after only two weeks at the box office.

It has risen up the ranks since then, and sits at number two when money earned from 2017 screenings are taken into consideration.

Anyone hoping to see the end of superhero movies any time soon may be disappointed by the list. Four comic book movies made the list, with the critically derived Suicide Squad beating Deadpool, Captain America and Batman v Superman to earn $5.3 million and come in fourth.

Another recent release is also on track for success. Disney's Pacific princess Moana sailed into 17th place in its first week with $2.8 million, besting the likes of X:Men Apocalypse, which earned $2.76 million across its entire box office run.

The Harry Potter franchise also returned to the box office after several years away, though the adventures of Newt Scamander have not done as well as past movies.

Racking up $4.5 million at the box office, Fantastic Beasts takes ninth place, but it's still not even close to the $8.7 million Deathly Hallows Part Two earned when it topped the box office in 2011.

Some of the big movies to just miss out on the Top 10 include Bridget Jones' Baby ($3.56m), Doctor Strange ($3.36m) and The Revenant ($3.09m).

Top 10 Movies at the NZ Box Office 2016

1. Hunt for the Wilderpeople $12,181,582
2. Finding Dory $7,079,648
3. Star Wars: The Force Awakens $5,476,587
4. Suicide Squad $5,331,314
5. Deadpool $5,187,330
6. The Jungle Book $5,038,731
7. Captain America: Civil War Walt $4,873,481
8. Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice $4,828,479
9. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story $4,652,863
10. Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them $4,547,76