The Big Picture
- Martin Scorsese’s film Killers of the Flower Moon has grossed over $145 million globally, despite the significant number of theaters it lost to new releases.
- The film’s success can’t be measured by traditional standards, as it is essentially a streaming movie with a wide theatrical release used as advertising for its eventual debut on Apple TV+.
- Killers of the Flower Moon is a dark and grim movie that focuses on a forgotten chapter in American history, which may have contributed to its unique commercial performance.
After losing a significant number of theaters to make room for a slew of new releases, director Martin Scorsese’s epic “anti-true crime” film Killers of the Flower Moon grossed over $5 million globally this weekend — its fifth — as it nears the end of its theatrical run. Based on David Grann‘s non-fiction book, the film has grossed $63 million domestically so far, and another $82 million from overseas markets, for a cumulative global haul of $145 million.
While this is nowhere near the $200 million-plus that the movie is said to have cost, Killers of the Flower Moon can’t be graded by the same yardstick as most other films. For one, it’s essentially a streaming movie that received the widest-ever theatrical release, playing at its peak in over 3,500 domestic theaters. Apple is effectively using this theatrical run as advertising for the film’s eventual debut on its Apple TV+ platform. Second, the film clocks in at over three and a half hours, which significantly reduces the number of shows that can be squeezed into a day. Thirdly, Killers of the Flower Moon is probably the most grim mainstream movie of the year, focusing on a dark chapter in American history, and spotlighting a forgotten story about the systemic mass murder of Osage people in the early 1920s.
|
Scorsese’s Last Three Theatrical Films |
Global Box Office |
|---|---|
|
Killers of the Flower Moon |
$145 million |
|
Silence |
$23 million |
|
The Wolf of Wall Street |
$406 million |
‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Is A Major Awards Season Contender
Uniting Scorsese’s long-time collaborators Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, who star alongside Lily Gladstone, the film received stellar reviews from critics — it sits at a “fresh” 93% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes — but also generated some amount of controversy about Scorsese’s decision to present it from the point-of-view of the villains. Both Gladstone and Scorsese have addressed these complaints with complex answers, but it would be a stretch to assume that this in any way affected the film’s commercial performance.
Scorsese’s last film, the gangster epic The Irishman, also cost over $200 million and was released on Netflix in 2019. It earned 10 nominations at the Academy Awards but didn’t win in a single category. This time, all the promotional burden fell on the legendary filmmaker’s shoulders, because the cast was unable to participate in publicity during the SAG-AFTRA strike. They have, however, since appeared at Academy screenings and given interviews in the lead-up to the awards race, where Killers of the Flower Moon is expected to be a major contender. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Killers of the Flower Moon
When oil is discovered in 1920s Oklahoma under Osage Nation land, the Osage people are murdered one by one – until the FBI steps in to unravel the mystery.
- Release Date
- October 20, 2023
- Director
- Martin Scorsese
- Cast
- Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Lily Gladstone, Jesse Plemons, John Lithgow, Brendan Fraser, Tantoo Cardinal, Cara Jade Myers