<Li> Michael Camilleri as Tanker Driver </Li> <P> In June 2009, Screen Australia announced that it would fund the development of the feature film to be produced based on the novel, to be written and directed by screenwriter Stuart Beattie . The film was released on 2 September 2010 . Critical response to the film was mixed and it failed to find an overseas audience . </P> <P> Filming began in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia on 28 September 2009 with early shooting in Dungog . Raymond Terrace was chosen as a major location for producing the film as it is "a great country town". Historic King Street, the former main street of the town, was transformed from a normally quiet location into Main Street, Wirrawee . The street began its transformation in September 2009, with set areas including the "Wirrawee Cinema" and the Lee family's Thai restaurant . Filming began in King Street on 21 October 2009 and continued until 27 October 2009 . Filming in other locations in the town ended on 6 November 2009 . Other filming locations included Maitland, the Blue Mountains and the Luskintyre bridge . The Fox Studios site in Sydney was also used . The explosions of the house and bridge were filmed, scaled - down, at Terrey Hills in northern Sydney . </P> <P> Tomorrow, When the War Began received mixed reviews . Review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 64% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 54 reviews, with an average score of 5.6 / 10 . The site's consensus is that "While the script isn't amazing and the story's race issues linger, this adaptation of John Marsden's book is an exciting, action - heavy adventure that should please fans of the series ." Marc Fennell of Triple J wrote that Tomorrow, When the War Began has "patchy acting, fantastic action and some great slivers of humour in a movie that only gives off the faintest whiff of a xenophobic nation terrified of being invaded ." Margaret Pomeranz of At the Movies wrote that "Stuart Beattie handles the action well; I think he's less adept at handling the development of character, but I'm sure the numerous fans of the book will be satisfied with the movie ." A review by the Australian Special Broadcasting Service was less generous, pointing out parallels to the 1984 film Red Dawn, starring Charlie Sheen and Patrick Swayze . It called the plot weak and the ending a letdown . Despite not coming close to its A $27 million budget, the film was popular at the Australian and New Zealand box office, though internationally it was far less successful . In Australia, the film debuted at No. 1 and made $3.86 million during its first weekend and grossed NZ $358,653 in its No. 1 debut in New Zealand . Within two weeks, the film grossed over $7.7 million in Australia to become the highest - grossing domestic film of 2010 . Paramount acquired distribution rights for the UK, Russia, South Africa, Portugal and Scandinavia and said upon its acquisition that they "look forward to bringing this story to international audiences ." Despite earning over $13.5 million at the Australian box office, the film "failed to find an international audience" and earned a total of under $3 million in the rest of the world combined . This included $341,995 in the U.K. and $1,026,705 in New Zealand . </P>

Where was tomorrow where the war began filmed