NEW YORK (AP) – Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley biopic “Elvis” rocked theaters with about $ 30.5 million in ticket sales over the weekend, but – rarely at the box office – “Elvis” equaled Top Gun: Maverick ”, Which also reported $ 30.5 million, for number 1 in theaters.
The final figures on Monday, after Sunday’s winnings are arranged in a table, will determine which film ultimately wins the weekend. With a high degree of accuracy, studios can predict Sunday sales based on business on Friday and Saturday, although the numbers often change by several hundred thousand dollars.
But for now, the unlikely Elvis and Maverick couples are locked in dancing (if you prefer Elvis) or in a dead mood (if you prefer Maverick). The fact that it was so close at all was due to both a better-than-expected start for Elvis and remarkably strong ongoing sales for Top Gun: Maverick. The sequel to “Top Gun” reached $ 1 billion at the box office worldwide in its fifth week of release.
Elvis, starring newcomer Austin Butler as Presley, came over the weekend with expectations close to $ 25 million. Among recent music biographies, the $ 30.5 million debut puts the King ahead of Elton John (Rocketman launches $ 25.7 million in 2019), but not in the same class as Freddie Mercury (“Bohemian Rhapsody”). launched with $ 51.1 million in 2018).
“I’m less worried about number one and number two, and I’m more worried that we’ve reached this high number, given that this audience is returning the slowest to theaters,” said Jeff Goldstein, head of distribution. of the Warner Brothers.
About 60% of Elvis’ audience was over 35 years old. Older audiences are among those most reluctant to return to theaters during the pandemic, but that is changing, in part, Goldstein said, because of Top Gun, which brought fans back to the 1986 original.
Elvis, which cost about $ 85 million, was driven by strong reviews (78% fresh for Rotten Tomatoes), good word of mouth (A-CinemaScore) and a glittering premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. He added $ 20 million overseas over the weekend.
Elvis ranks Luhrmann’s second best debut since The Great Gatsby in 2013 ($ 50.1 million). Luhrmann was on the verge of starting production in Australia when, at an indelibly early moment in the pandemic, star Tom Hanks tested positive for COVID-19.
“Elvis was a risky proposition: the music is up to date, the character is not directly known, and the lead actor is unproven on the big screen,” writes David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research. “But the critics and the audience are reacting. This is Baz Luhrmann’s show, spectacular music, dancing and sex appeal – it’s a hit. “
Meanwhile, “Top Gun: Maverick” continues to rise. Paramount Pictures became the first release in 2022 to reach $ 1 billion in ticket sales worldwide, and the first to feature Tom Cruise.
In its fifth weekend of release, “Maverick” fell only 32% in the domestic market, reaching a total of 521.7 million dollars in theaters in the United States and Canada. He continues to move up the records, ranking 15th for all time in the country, without taking into account inflation. Internationally, the sequel to “Top Gun” added another $ 44.5 million.
The Elvis / Top Gun clash – along with Blumhouse’s new horror edition The Black Phone and major mishaps in Pixar’s Jurasic World: Dominion and Lightyear – have been made one of the most competitive and busy , weekends in cinemas in the era of the pandemic.
Most studios came to celebrate, although Disney’s “Lightyear” fell a steep 65% in its second weekend. After opening quietly last week, the toy game spin-off raised $ 17.7 million in the domestic market, falling to fifth place. Lightyear, which has grossed $ 152 million worldwide to date, will soon face more competition for families with the release of Minions: The Rise of Gru on Friday.
The counterprogramming comes from Universal Pictures’ Black Phone, a supernatural thriller directed by Scott Derrickson starring Ethan Hawke as a runaway killer. Blumhouse’s production received strong reviews (84% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) to a better-than-expected start of $ 23.4 million.
After two weeks in first place, Universal’s “Jurasic World: Dominion” took $ 26.4 million, dropping to third place. It has now crossed the $ 300 million domestic market and has been withdrawn at $ 746.7 million worldwide.
The much smaller film, Marcel the Shell With Shoes On, debuted with good sales in a limited edition. The warmly-accepted stop-motion animated film, in which Jenny Slate voices an inch-tall mollusk with a watchful eye, began at $ 169,606 on six screens, averaging $ 28,267 per screen.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at theaters in the United States and Canada, according to Comscore. The final internal data will be published on Monday.
1. (Tie) Elvis, $ 30.5 million.
1. (Tie) “Top Gun: Maverick”, $ 30.5 million.
3. Jurassic World: Dominion, $ 26.4 million.
4. Black Phone, $ 23.4 million.
5. Lightyear, $ 17.7 million.
6. “Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” $ 1.7 million.
7. Jugjugg Jeeyo, $ 725,000.
8. “Everything Everywhere and At Once,” $ 533,000.
9. Bob’s Burgers Movie, $ 513,000.
10. The Bad Boys, $ 440,000.
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