In a surprising movie showdown, Taylor Swift’s concert film, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” dominated the box office for the second weekend in a row, while Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” had a strong opening in Apple Studios’ first major theatrical venture.
Swift’s concert film made an estimated $31 million over the weekend from 3,855 locations, after its record-breaking opening weekend of $92.8 million. The film is being distributed by AMC Theaters in a unique deal where it is only shown on Thursdays through Sundays.
Although sales dropped 67% in its second weekend, “The Eras Tour” still became the highest-grossing concert film ever in North America, earning $129.8 million domestically.
On the other hand, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” a historical crime drama about murders against the Osage nation in the 1920s, had a successful debut with $23 million in box office revenue. The film, which cost at least $200 million to make, is Apple Studios’ biggest production to date. It was released in 3,628 theaters in partnership with Paramount Pictures and will later be available for streaming on Apple TV+.
Despite its lengthy runtime of 206 minutes, “Killers of the Flower Moon” received rave reviews, an “A-” CinemaScore from audiences, and is expected to perform well in the long run. It also added $21 million from international markets.
Notably, “Killers of the Flower Moon” achieved the best wide-release debut for a film from a streaming company, following Apple’s strategy to release movies in theaters before they become available for streaming on its platform. Apple has committed to spending $1 billion annually on movie production for theatrical releases.
Initially, Paramount was set to produce and distribute “Killers of the Flower Moon,” but Apple took over the project when costs rose due to the pandemic.
Overall, the weekend box office rankings were as follows:
- “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” – $31 million
- “Killers of the Flower Moon” – $23 million
- “Exorcist: The Believer” – $5.6 million
- “Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie” – $4.5 million
- “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (rerelease) – $4.1 million
- “Saw X” – $3.6 million
- “The Creator” – $2.6 million
- “Leo: Bloody Sweet” – $2.1 million
- “A Haunting in Venice” – $1.1 million
- “The Blind” – $1 million
