Slow start for Love Birds

The film opened last Thursday and jumped to second place on the charts, sitting below Oscar-winner The King's Speech. Photo / Supplied

Rhys Darby's romantic comedy Love Birds took a hit in its first week, which the distributor attributes mainly to the Christchurch earthquake.

The film opened last Thursday and jumped to second place on the charts, sitting below Oscar-winner The King's Speech and above other popular films in their second, fourth and fifth weeks, Unknown, True Grit and Black Swan.

Including the Valentine's Day preview screenings and weekend sales, it managed to pull $181,173 in the week ending Sunday, February 27.

Elizabeth Trotman, general manager of Hoyts Distribution, says sales were directly affected by Christchurch.

The film was due to screen in seven Hoyts cinemas in Christchurch - one has collapsed entirely and the rest are not operating. This affects 20 per cent of all cinema takings, Trotman says, but takings were also lower than expected in other areas.

"I think the general mood of the nation the weekend just been was a bit more sombre and so people weren't up for watching a romantic comedy, but the numbers were still strong. The word of mouth is good and people enjoy the film, so I think this coming weekend it could be the perfect antidote," she says.

- TimeOut