The Big Picture
- Jacob Elordi is experiencing a successful year in the film industry, similar to what Timothée Chalamet could have had if not for a movie delay.
- The film Saltburn, directed by Emerald Fennell and starring Elordi and Barry Keoghan, had a strong limited opening and received positive reviews.
- Saltburn’s impressive per-theater average earnings, along with its international box office success, indicate its potential for wider success and a nationwide expansion.
Star Jacob Elordi is having the year that Timothée Chalamet could have had if Dune: Part Two hadn’t been pushed by several months, robbing him of the possibility of having two major movies playing in theaters at the same time, with Wonka lined up for December. But that’s exactly what Elordi is experiencing right now; just a few weeks after the strong debut of Priscilla, his latest film, Saltburn, delivered one of the best limited openings of the year this weekend.
Directed by Emerald Fennell, who won a writing Oscar for Promising Young Woman some years ago, Saltburn is a psychological black comedy thriller that also features last year’s Best Supporting Actor nominee Barry Keoghan as the parallel lead. Both stars were finally able to promote the movie now that the SAG-AFTRA strike has ended, and their chemistry no doubt helped fuel more interest in it. Saltburn opened in seven domestic theaters this weekend, where it generated $315,000 for a strong per-theater average of $45,000.
This is among the best per-theater averages of the year so far, in line with the dark comedy Bottoms, which debuted in 10 theaters for a PTA of $46,000. A24’s Past Lives and Beau is Afraid debuted with $58,000 and $80,000 PTAs, respectively, while Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City scored a $100,000 PTA from four theaters in June. Less than a month ago, Priscilla generated $132,000 from just four theaters for a $33,000 PTA, before expanding nationwide a week later. The film has since generated over $16 million domestically. Promising Young Woman, on the other hand, concluded its domestic run with a little over $6 million in mid-pandemic 2020, but generated significant buzz online on its way to five nods at the Oscars, including Best Picture.
|
Day |
Domestic Gross |
|---|---|
|
1 |
$167,624 |
|
2 |
$82,149 |
|
3 |
$65,719 |
Saltburn Has Received Mostly Positive Reviews
Saltburn, which follows a university student who spends the summer with a schoolmate after becoming infatuated with him, premiered at this year’s Telluride Film Festival to generally positive reviews. The film currently sits at a “fresh” 73% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Collider’s Emma Kiely wrote in her review that the movie doesn’t bring anything new to the recent burst of “Eat the Rich” films, but it’s “still a very fun ride worth taking — one full of excess, dirt, comedy, and bodily fluids.”
Saltburn also stars Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Grant, Alison Oliver, and Archie Madekwe, and has generated $1.3 million from international territories already, for an early global haul of $1.6 million. The film will expand nationwide ahead of the Thanksgiving weekend. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Saltburn
A student at Oxford University finds himself drawn into the world of a charming and aristocratic classmate, who invites him to his eccentric family’s sprawling estate for a summer never to be forgotten.
- Release Date
- November 17, 2023
- Director
- Emerald Fennell
- Cast
- Rosamund Pike, Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Carey Mulligan, Archie Madekwe