Elvis puts the King back in spotlight at the box office
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Baz Luhrmann’s rock-and-roll biopic Elvis hip-swiveled its way to the top of the box office after its opening weekend in North America, taking in an estimated US$30.5 million in a rare tie with Top Gun: Maverick, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported on Sunday (Jun 26).
The nearly 3-hour long extravaganza by director Luhrmann, known for glitzy films like Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby, brought in nearly double the average for the musical biography genre, said analyst David Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.
Despite being a “risky proposition,” in part for casting relative newcomer Austin Butler as Elvis Presley alongside Tom Hanks as his exploitative manager, Colonel Tom Parker, the film has impressed audiences and critics, Gross said.
“This is the Baz Luhrmann show, a music, dance and sex appeal spectacular – it’s a hit,” he said.
Elvis was locked in a dead heat with Top Gun: Maverick – the crowd-pleasing sequel to the original 1986 film that once again features Tom Cruise as cocky Navy test pilot Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.
It also earned an estimated US$30.5 million in its fifth weekend of release. It is now the highest grossing film of the year worldwide, breaking the US$1 billion mark with nearly US$522 million in ticket sales in North America and US$484 million overseas.
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In third place was Jurassic World Dominion, Universal’s sixth installment in the Jurassic Park franchise, at US$26.4 million.
The latest dinosaur frightfest stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard alongside franchise originals Sam Neill, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum.
Fourth spot went to horror film The Black Phone starring Ethan Hawke as a serial killer, which earned US23.4 million on its opening weekend.
Lightyear, Pixar and Disney’s latest computer-animated offering from the Toy Story empire, took the fifth position with US$17.7 million in its second week.
The spinoff from the wildly successful animation series stars Chris Evans and has taken US$88.8 million domestically and $63 million overseas, after a lacklustre opening.
Rounding out the top 10 were: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (US$1.7 million); Jugjugg Jeeyo (US$604,000); Everything Everywhere All At Once (US$533,346); The Bob’s Burgers Movie (US$513,000); and The Bad Guys (US$440,000). AFP
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