Award-winning local feature film Whale Rider, based on the novel by gay author Witi Ihimaera, has backed up its critical acclaim with box office success in Los Angeles and New York. Whale Rider's screen averages in its limited-release opening weekend were nearly $1000 higher than Hollywood's latest blockbuster, 2 Fast 2 Furious, which is currently #1 at the US box office. Following on from this success, the film is set to open in a further 15 cities across America by the end of the month. It is currently enjoying its seventeenth week in the NZ box office top 10, and its third week in the Australian top 5.