As Mindblowing Films boss Mitu Bhowmick Lange was receiving an Honourary Order of Australia, her latest film Pathaan was smashing it at the box office. Meanwhile, Chinese blockbuster The Wandering Earth II has already surpassed takings of any Chinese film since the Covid era, and Billie Eilish pulled in the punters on limited screenings of her latest concert film. When you include Avatar 2 in the conversation, it all points to the fact that audiences are still well and truly there in large numbers for the cinema experience when the offering is right.