This past weekend, two very different movies competed for box office success. "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" continued to dominate the box office, bringing in an estimated $31 million from 3,855 locations. This concert film, distributed by AMC Theaters, had a record-breaking opening weekend with $92.8 million. However, sales dropped by 67% in its second weekend, suggesting that the film's popularity may have been largely driven by advance ticketing and the excitement of its opening.
Despite this decline, "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" has already become the highest-grossing concert film in North America, accumulating $129.8 million domestically. It is worth noting that this achievement does not account for inflation.
On the other hand, Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon" had a strong start in Apple Studios' first major theatrical release. This historical crime drama, which cost at least $200 million to make, debuted with $23 million. While this may not be as impressive as the opening weekends of Scorsese's previous films like "Shutter Island" and "The Departed," it is still a solid launch for a 206-minute-long adult-skewing drama.
"Killers of the Flower Moon" received positive reviews from critics, an "A-" CinemaScore from audiences, and is backed by a robust Oscar campaign. With these factors, the film is expected to continue performing well over the long term. It also earned $21 million overseas.
This release also marks the best wide-release debut for a film from a streaming company, as Apple partnered with Paramount Pictures to distribute the film in theaters. Apple has been pursuing a more expansive theatrical strategy, with plans to spend $1 billion a year on movies that will have theatrical releases before streaming on their platform.
While these two movies may seem drastically different, they share one common factor: their extended run times. A double feature of "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" and "Killers of the Flower Moon" would have taken over six hours to watch.
In addition to these films, other notable releases over the weekend include "Exorcist: The Believer," which came in third with $6.7 million, and "Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie," which came in fourth with $4.3 million.
Overall, it was an interesting weekend at the box office with two diverse films vying for attention and success.