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The Nugget is a 2002 Australian comedy film about three friends who find the world's largest nugget of gold.
The film was one of a number financed by the Macquarie Film Corporation.[1][2]
The story concerns a group of three road workers who stumble upon the world's biggest nugget of gold, and become instant millionaires — or so they think. The road workers are mates from way back, and each weekend they go out to an old goldmining site hoping to strike it rich. Each weekend they come back with nothing but a hangover. But then everything changes when they discover the world's biggest nugget — worth many millions of dollars.
Bill Bennett had long wanted to make a film based on the John Steinbeck story The Pearl but was unable to get the rights. Instead he decided to write a version of it set in Australia about a nugget. Bennett said the wrote it "just to have a bit of a laugh. I didn't think it would get financed. I'd been writing a lot of dark material and had a gap in my schedule so I thought it'd be nice to cleanse myself as it were. "[3]
The film was shot in Mudgee. Eric Bana made it after Black Hawk Down.[4]
Macquarie Film Corporation invested $2,112,800 and received $223,477 causing a write down of $1,817,800.[5]
According to Variety the film "comes off as a too-obvious giftwrap of trademarked beer-scarfin’, back-slappin’ Aussie charm for the tourist trade. Wearing “heart” on its sleeve like a sailor’s tattoo, poking at dumb-and-dumber formulae without braving full-blown Farrelly Brothers-type yocks, this slick mediocrity looks to be a mild B.O. performer at home, minor rental fare elsewhere."[6]
The Nugget grossed $1,920,993 at the box office in Australia.[7]