Mad Max received a polarized reception upon its release in April 1979, although it won three AACTA Awards and attracted a cult following, while its critical reputation has grown since. Filmed on a budget of A$0.4 million, it earned more than US$100 million worldwide in gross revenue, and held the "Guinness" record for most profitable film. The success of "Mad Max" has been credited for further opening up the global market to Australian New Wave films. The film became the first in the "Mad Max" series, giving rise to three sequels, "Mad Max 2" (1981), "Beyond Thunderdome" (1985), and "" (2015). "A
Mad Max street of Clunes, north of Ballarat. Much of the streetscape remains unchanged. Some scenes were filmed at Tin City at Stockton Beach. The "execution of the mannequin" scene was filmed at Seaford Beach in Seaford, Victoria. "Mad Max" was one of the first Australian films to be shot with a widescreen anamorphic lens, although Peter Weir's "The Cars That Ate Paris" (1974) was shot in anamorphic four years earlier. Miller's desire to shoot in anamorphic made him seek a set of Todd-AO wide angle lenses used by Sam Peckinpah to film "The Getaway" (1972), which were damaged enough in that