During this rare tie, Sunday studio estimates had Luhrmann’s latest film and Top Gun: Maverick each earning $30.5 million. However, final weekend results counted on Monday morning show Elvis grossing $31.1 million after a strong Sunday, according to Warner Bros., with the newest Tom Cruise film finishing the weekend with $29.6 million.
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The jump in box office sales mainly stems from Top Gun: Maverick re-releasing in select IMAX and other premium large-format screens. Entering its fifth weekend, the film has grossed over $1 billion worldwide, making it Cruise’s biggest hit yet. However, the upset was suspected due to the anticipation of Luhrmann’s newest biopic. Recent polling shows that 56 percent of Elvis’ audience so far is over the age of 35, including 29 percent over 55. The Austin Butler-led biopic skewed female (57 percent) and, as predicted, played best in the South. Audiences graced the film with an A- CinemaScore and a 94 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. “It is an extraordinary accomplishment to get to this level of business, and see older moviegoers return to theaters,” said Warner Bros. domestic distribution chief Jeff Goldstein. Globally, the biopic took in $20 million for a global start of $50.5 million. The U.K. and Australia led with $4.7 million each.
Heading into the weekend, tracking suggested Elvis would open in the $25 million range domestically. However, Luhrmann’s opening weekend marked the first non-holiday weekend in five years when four titles earned $20 million or more (Elvis, Top Gun: Maverick, Jurassic World: Dominion, and The Black Phone). In addition, the weekend marked a historic milestone for Maverick, where it became the second Hollywood release of the “post-pandemic era” to fly past $500 million domestically (with first-place belonging to last year’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, which earned $804 million).
Overall, cinemas saw a rise in sales this past week. With a wide range of film types being released and staying at the top this past weekend, the casual movie-goer has a variety of options to see. From family film lovers (Lightyear), horror fanatics (The Black Phone), to nostalgia-based fans (Dominion and Maverick), June’s final weekend seems like the perfect time to hit the cinemas.
While Elvis has wrapped up its opening weekend, sales are still expected to rise. As it enters its first full week in theaters, Warner Bros. can expect to see another big box office sale.
Elvis and Top Gun: Maverick are now playing in theaters everywhere.
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Source: The Hollywood Reporter
