Saturday, April 9, 2005
The top money grossing entertainers in Australia in 2005 were not Kylie Minogue, Nicole Kidman, or Russell Crowe. In fact, it was four tot-time entertainers, the Wiggles, with their preference for bright colours and sing-along dance numbers. Their earnings level was estimated at AU$45 million over the last year by Australian publication Business Review Weekly (BRW), in its yearly who’s-who ranking of the nation’s top 50 entertainment earners.
“They got into the market early, they took time to understand their audience, not only children but the parents who pay for everything,” BRW managing editor Tony Featherstone, said.
Though almost doubling her earnings from the previous year, Nicole Kidman only made second place, at AU$40m. And Crowe came in third, at “only” AU$27m. Fourth place was long-time heavy metal favourites, AC/DC, whose estimated income was AU$18m.
Another children’s entertainment band, Hi-5 came in sixth with $15m, after Naomi Watts.