Kiwi director Taika Waititi's golden touch has continued after he was at the helm of biggest box office earning film in New Zealand for the second year in a row.

Waititi's Thor: Ragnarok raked in $7 million in ticket sales during its 2017 release in Kiwi cinemas, ahead of Beauty and the Beast with $6.5m and Star Wars: The Last Jedi with $5.85m, the Motion Pictures Distributors' Association said.

Dunkirk and Moana rounded out 2017's top five earners followed by films, such as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, Despicable Me 3 and Wonder Woman.

Waititi also enjoyed spectacular success with his 2016-directed Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople was not only 2016's biggest earner with more than $12m in ticket sales. It helped drive a record New Zealand box office taking in that year of $206,605,000.

Total takings last year fell slightly to $189,660,000, the Motion Pictures Distributors' Association said.

"Given the runaway success of Hunt for the Wilderpeople in 2016 we were not at all surprised to see a return to normality in the 2017 box office here," association chair Peter Garner said.

The numbers came on a good day for Waititi., It was announced this morning that he and collaborator Jemaine Clement have received a pilot for American cable network FX to develop a spin off of their hit Kiwi movie, What We Do in the Shadows.

The 2014 comedy, which was a box office success in NZ, is already being developed for a TVNZ show. 

Waititi will direct the pilot while Clement will direct.

NZ Box Office Top 10 for 2017

1 Thor: Ragnarok – 7,008,315
2: Beauty and the Beast – 6,456,9543
3: Star Wars: The Last Jedi – 5,845,604
4: Dunkirk – 5,833,201
5: Moana – 5,480,819
6: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 – 5,383,864
7: Despicable Me 3 – 5,379,759
8: The Fate of the Furious – 5,093,523
9: Wonder Woman – 4,901,008
10: Lion – 4,269,809

- NZ Newswire