Box Office Scorseses Killers of the Flower Moon Impresses with

Box Office: Scorsese’s ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Impresses with $23M Debut, but Swift’s ‘Eras ​​Tour’ Remains No. 1

Martin Scorsese’s star-studded crime epic “Killers of the Flower Moon” impressed at the box office in its debut, earning $23 million from 3,628 North American theaters over the weekend. The film also grossed $21 million from 63 international territories, bringing its total to $44 million.

Despite its second-place finish, it’s easily the best start of Scorsese’s career since 2010’s “Shutter Island” (debut: $41 million), besting the opening weekends of “Hugo” (debut: $11 million). the year 2011 and “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2013). (debuting $18.3 million), 2016’s “Silence” ($7.1 million in total domestic release) and 2019’s “The Irishman” (which received a token theatrical release before its release on Netflix had). And “Killers of the Flower Moon” managed to make a splash even though its stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro were unable to promote the film due to the ongoing actors’ strike.

Despite its daunting three-and-a-half-hour running time, the R-rated film “Killers of the Flower Moon” was warmly received by moviegoers (with an “A-” CinemaScore) and critics (92% on Rotten Tomatoes). This bodes well for the rest of the film’s run. As expected, there were mainly older people present at the opening event, but many younger ticket buyers also came: 44% were under 30 years old.

The $200 million-budgeted film represents a bold big-screen bet for Apple, which has — until now — prioritized streaming over theatrical. This is the largest release ever for a film supported by a streaming service. It’s unclear when the film will land on Apple TV+, but it will be at least 45 days away.

“Reviews and audience ratings are excellent. And Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro are strong draws abroad,” says David A. Gross, who runs the film consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “Through word of mouth, press coverage and eventual award nominations, the picture is now primed for a strong run.”

Based on David Grann’s 2017 novel and starring Lily Gladstone and Jesse Plemons, the story is set amid the “Reign of Terror,” a period that refers to the mysterious murders that followed the discovery of large deposits of oil on the land of the Osage Nation took place in the early 1920s. “Killers of the Flower Moon” is a very expensive film that wouldn’t exist without a company like Apple footing the bill. This is because the streaming service has a different measure of success compared to traditional cinema providers and does not set the budget for films based solely on box office results. Paramount Pictures, which distributed “Killers of the Flower Moon,” originally planned to finance the film as well, but brought in Apple to finance the project after the cost rose to $200 million. Given the price, you still have to do big deals to be profitable, but Scorsese’s films tend to have considerable staying power at the box office.

Apple is testing the model again with two more high-profile films, Ridley Scott’s historical drama “Napoleon” on November 22nd (distributed by Sony Pictures) and Matthew Vaughn’s spy thriller “Argylle” on February 2nd (distributed by Universal). Based on the performance of these films, box office analysts believe this could bring new players into the exhibition space.

“The production and distribution of ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ breaks new ground,” says Gross. “If ‘flexibility’ is the new mantra of the motion picture industry, then that is a significant achievement.”

Despite “Flower Moon’s” strong start, it was no match for Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour,” which remained in first place with $31 million from 3,855 venues. It is the only concert film in history to reach No. 1 on two consecutive weekends, and it is the first to gross $100 million at the domestic box office. After just five days of play, the film, distributed by AMC Theaters, has grossed $131 million to date. Despite ticket sales falling a significant 66% compared to its debut, The Eras Tour is already a big commercial winner. Produced by Swift herself, it cost around $15 million and required smaller marketing expenditures than the average blockbuster of its size.

Coming in a distant third place was Universal’s horror sequel “The Exorcist: Believer,” which brought in $5.6 million in its third weekend of release. So far, the film has grossed $54.2 million in North America and $107 million worldwide. That’s a solid turnout for a film that cost $30 million. But Universal and Blumhouse shelled out a staggering $400 million for the rights to the property, so it’s necessary for moviegoers to feel invested in the series beyond this installment to justify this massive deal.

“PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie” landed at No. 4 with $4.3 million in its fourth weekend in theaters. The animated children’s film from Paramount and Nickelodeon has grossed $55.9 million in North America and $148 million worldwide officially surpassed the success of its 2021 predecessor “PAW Patrol” ($40 million domestically while premiering on Paramount+; $140 million worldwide). The sequel only cost $30 million, not to mention the lucrative consumer products line, so The Mighty Movie is well positioned for theatrical release.

Rounding out the top five was Disney’s re-release of Tim Burton’s spooky 1993 classic “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” which earned $4.1 million from 1,650 theaters. The musical story of Jack Skellington and the residents of Halloween Town provides a welcome extra boost for exhibitors this time of year.

There’s more to come…