John Farnham Tribute Show Storms Australian Box Office

It was only at the cinemas for one night, and it still made a splash on the big screen.

Hoyts announced earlier this month that Sunday night's tribute concert for Australian icon John Farnham would be beamed into cinemas nationwide, and the show has pulled in some incredible numbers.

Across just 50 screens, The Songs of John Farnham: A Living Legend – The Celebration Concert at Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena on Sunday night raked in $1.2 million at the box office and came in at No. 3 for the weekend overall.

For reference, this week's top film in Australia, Resident Evil, made $3.7 million across 389 cinemas.

Rolling Stone AU/NZ was at Rod Laver Arena for the concert, which saw live sets from the likes of Keith Urban, Tina Arena, and Jimmy Barnes, as well as a livestreamed performance of "You're the Voice" from Celine Dion. Check out the full review of the show here.

It was hoped that Farnham would attend the concert, however, his family announced on social media before the concert that the 77-year-old would not attend due to poor health.

Dion appeared via a live simulcast from Paris to perform Farnham’s signature hit, “You’re the Voice”, accompanied by four pipers inside Rod Laver Arena. The Canadian superstar previously performed the song alongside Farnham during her Melbourne concert in 2018.

Coldplay frontman Martin also joined remotely, delivering an original song written especially for Farnham titled “Better Singer Than Me”. The light-hearted track was inspired by Martin’s friendship with the late Shane Warne, who once told him: “He’s a better singer than you.”

Urban, meanwhile, travelled from Nashville for the concert and performed “Burn For You”, accompanying himself on guitar. 

"Seated on a stool and accompanying himself on guitar, he basically wins the night. Urban’s performance is heartfelt and sincere, elevated by his gently weeping guitar solo," Rolling Stone AU/NZ wrote in their review. 

The night also featured performances from a long list of Australian artists including Jimmy Barnes, Tina Arena, Jessica Mauboy, Kate Ceberano, Jon Stevens, Human Nature, Diesel, Mahalia Barnes, Jack Jones and Farnham’s son Rob.