Ben Lewin’s sex surrogate film The Sessions opens with $267,000 at box office as Housos breaks through $1m

William H Macy and John Hawkes in The Sessions

The Sessions, a film by an Australian film-maker husband and wife duo, has taken $267,000 at the box office in its opening weekend.

Written and directed by Ben Lewin and produced by his wife Judi Levine, The Sessions is inspired by a true story and and follows man in an iron lung who wishes to lose his virginity to a professional sex surrogate.

The Fox-distributed film was awarded winner of the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival this year.

Starring John Hawkes, William H Macy and Helen Hunt, the film opened on 57 screens for a $4,680 screen average, taking the film’s total Australian box office to $278,000, following a screening at Melbourne International Film Festival.