Islamabad OCTOBER 23 (Online): Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour took in an estimated $31 million over the weekend while Killers of the Flower Moon debuted with $23 million.
\nIn a movie match-up almost as unlikely as Barbie and Oppenheimer, Martin Scorsese took on Taylor Swift in cinemas over the weekend. And while the box office belonged for a second time to Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, Scorsese\u2019s Killers of the Flower Moon got off to a strong start in Apple Studios\u2019 first major theatrical gambit. <\/p>\n
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour box office
\nAfter a record-breaking opening weekend of $92.8 million, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour took in an estimated $31 million over the weekend from 3,855 locations, according to AMC Theaters. In an unconventional deal, the theater chain is distributing Swift\u2019s concert film, and playing it only Thursdays through Sundays.<\/p>\n
Most Swifties rushed to see the film on opening weekend, when a large percent of sales were driven by advance ticketing. Sales dropped a steep 67% in its second weekend, potentially signifying that The Eras Tour was predominantly an opening-weekend phenomenon.
\nBut The Eras Tour has still proved to be a movie event unlike any other. Within days, it became the highest grossing concert film ever in North America, not accounting for inflation. It\u2019s quickly accumulated $129.8 million domestically.<\/p>\n
Killers of the Flower Moon box office
\nMore was riding on Killers of the Flower Moon, a historical crime drama about a string of murders against the Osage nation in the early 1920s. The film, which cost at least $200 million to make, is the largest production yet from Apple Studios. The streamer partnered with Paramount Pictures to release Scorsese\u2019s adaptation of David Grann\u2019s bestseller in 3,628 theaters, with plans to later stream it on a not-yet-announced date on Apple TV .
\nKillers of the Flower Moon debuted with $23 million, marking the third best opening for the 80-year-old Scorsese, following Shutter Island ($41 million in 2010) and The Departed ($26.9 million in 2006). Though Scorsese\u2019s latest opus, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone and Robert De Niro, will have a hard road to reaching profitability, it\u2019s a successful launch for a 206-minute-long adult-skewing drama \u2013 a type of movie that, outside \u201cOppenheimer,\u201d has struggled mightily at the box office in recent years.
\nAnd Killers of the Flower Moon, with rave reviews, an \u201cA-\u201d CinemaScore from audiences and the backing of a robust Oscar campaign, should continue to play well over the long haul. It added $21 million overseas.
\nKiller of the Flower Moon also marks the best wide-release debut for a film from a streaming company. While Netflix (which backed Scorsese\u2019s last narrative feature, The Irishman, in 2019) has charted a mostly limited approach to theatrical release, Apple and Amazon, which last year closed its purchase of MGM, have pursued more expansive theatrical strategies.
\nEarlier this year, Apple said it plans to spend $1 billion a year making movies that will have theatrical releases before reaching its streaming service. Apple is also behind Ridley Scott\u2019s upcoming Napoleon, with Joaquin Phoenix, which Sony Pictures will distribute Nov. 22; and has partnered with Universal for Matthew Vaughn\u2019s Argylle, due out Feb. 2.
\nParamount had initially signed on to produce and distribute Killers of the Flower Moon, but transitioned into the deal with Apple when costs of project \u2014 shot during the pandemic \u2014 rose. \u201cIf \u2018flexibility\u2019 is the new mantra of the theatrical movie business, then this is a significant success \u2014 it establishes a viable option for the companies,\u201d David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, said of the Killers of the Flower Moon launch.
\nAs dissimilar as Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour and Killers of the Flower Moon are, they\u2019re alike in their extended run times. A double feature of the weekend\u2019s top two movies would have taken six hours and 14 minutes, not counting ads and trailers.
\nKillers of the Flower Moon also reeled in more young moviegoers than one might have expected. Paramount said 44% of ticket buyers were under the age of 30.
\nOther movies at the box office
\nExorcist: The Believer, the horror sequel directed by David Gordon Green, came in a distant third with $5.6 million in its third weekend of release. The Universal, Blumhouse film has grossed $54.2 million domestically.
\nPAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie came in at No. 4 with $4.5 million in its fourth weekend. The fifth spot went to the rerelease of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, which collected $4.1 million 30 years after it first landed in theaters.
\nEstimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday are for U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
\n1. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, $31 million.
\n2. Killers of the Flower Moon, $23 million.
\n3. The Exorcist: Believer, $5.6 million.
\n4. Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie, $4.5 million.
\n5. The Nightmare Before Christmas, $4.1 million.
\n6. Saw X, $3.6 million.
\n7. The Creator, $2.6 million.
\n8. Leo: Bloody Sweet, $2.1 million.
\n9. A Haunting in Venice, $1.1 million.
\n10. The Blind, $1 million.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad OCTOBER 23 (Online): Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour took in an estimated $31 million over the weekend while Killers of the Flower Moon debuted with $23 million. In a movie match-up almost as unlikely as Barbie and Oppenheimer, Martin Scorsese took on Taylor Swift […]<\/p>\n
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