8 Feb 2013

$200,000 for film's first day

6:42 am on 8 February 2013

Mt Zion's first day in the cinemas has collected $200,000 from ticket sales.

Stan Walker and Temuera Morrison star in the movie set in Pukekohe - which follows a musician and his band as they dream to be the support act for Bob Marley's 1979 tour of New Zealand.

Its debut on Waitangi Day has drawn applause from the New Zealand Film Commission, which is congratulating the crew and actors, and the writer-director Tearapa Kahi.

The film has been made by an independent production company with help from Maori Television and funding agencies the Film Commission, New Zealand On Air and Te Mangai Paho.