In a remarkable benchmark for an adult, female-skewing movie, especially with a 2 hour 39 minute running time, Warner Bros.’ Elvis has crossed the $100M mark at the domestic box office.
As we’ve written, the feat provides a lot of promise on a number of levels. It’s a win for older counter-programming at a U.S./Canada box office where only comic book films and heavy franchise films can win. Just because it’s not a tentpole doesn’t mean the movie needs to relegated to streaming. And above all, after many were concerned that older females and adults wouldn’t come back to the back office, here’s Elvis proving them wrong.
In its first two weeks in ComScore/Screen Engine PostTrak audience polling, Elvis dynamited the over 55 demo at 31% with close to half over 45. Forty-five percent of the audience were women over 25 who gave the movie its best grades at 92%.
This is the second move for Warners to cross $100M calendar YTD after the mega success of The Batman which made $369.3M. The other Easter movie, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore ended its stateside run at $95.85M.
The pic’s global total currently stands at $170M. The pic is currently director Baz Luhrmann’s fourth highest grossing movie worldwide after The Great Gatsby ($354M), Australia ($212M) and Moulin Rouge! ($185M). So far at the domestic B.O., it’s Luhrmann’s second highest grossing after The Great Gatsby which did $145M.
For Tom Hanks, who plays Elvis’ greedy manager Colonel Tom Parker, its his 24th movie as an actor to cross the century mark at the U.S./Canada box office.
Warner is also excited about the young kids who are coming to see Elvis; former Nickelodeon and Zoey 101 actor Austin Butler, who plays the King of Rock n’ Roll providing appeal.
“Elvis continues to drive box office in part because younger audiences—none of whom were born during Elvis’s lifetime—are embracing the film and leading the enthusiastic social media conversation. Along with the film’s success, the music from the movie is climbing on diverse charts, resulting in a cross-genre reverberation from dance to hip-hop and more, and sales of the Elvis Presley catalog rising, with streaming of his music up 90%,” said Jeff Goldstein, President of Domestic Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.
“We are not only pleased to cross this milestone, but truly thrilled to see it happen with a film like Elvis. In today’s market and especially in the summer corridor, to see a non-branded IP with an up-and-coming lead create not just box office noise but also result in a significant spike in other areas is so gratifying and speaks to the quality of the film on every level. With strong playability, positive word of mouth and cross-generational multiple viewings, we expect Elvis to continue to deliver and we congratulate Baz, Austin and everyone involved in the film and the soundtrack on its ongoing success,” Goldstein added.
The Elvis soundtrack has topped the Billboard soundtrack chart, thanks to such hits as Doja Cat’s “Vegas,” currently #7 on the U.S. Spotify chart and #14 on the Billboard streaming chart. PNAU, who performs (with Elvis), produced and arranged “Don’t Fly Away,” provided the legendary Presley with his first-ever appearance on a dance music chart.
On social media, TikTok engagement has more than doubled since the film’s release, with 238 million views of Elvis-related content post-open, and on Twitter, Millennials (ages 25 to 41) represent the largest audience discussing the film since opening, accounting for 47% of the total volume; close behind are audiences ages 13 to 34, representing 25% of the conversation.