Box Office Update: Swift beating Scorsese but both movies overperforming

In our Thursday predictions we asked the question: Can the power of Scorsese, DeNiro & DiCaprio take down Taylor Swift? Well, the numbers have begun rolling in for this weekend and the short answer is: no! Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is looking at a second weekend take in the $32 million range, which would represent a decline between 60-70%. Despite that type of drop, the film is still a massive success, with fans ranging from your average “Swiftie” to Oppenheimer director Christopher Nolan. 

Coming in second place is Martin Scorsese’s passion project Killers of the Flower Moon which is looking at an opening weekend in the mid $20 million range. For a $200 million budgeted film, that number is not that great, but this is one of those rare box office runs where the actual number doesn’t really matter. Sure, if the movie was an absolute bomb, that may make some headlines, but this number represents a pretty solid start for a film that clocks in at a massive three hours and twenty six minutes.

Much like The Eras Tour, whenever Scorsese or DiCaprio release a new film, it is an event (Sorry DeNiro, you lost the “event” prestige when you put out The War With Grandpa!) With stellar reviews including a rare 10/10 from our own Chris Bumbray, this one will play prominently in this years awards season (hopefully the AMPTP and SAG-Aftra can get their differences worked out soon so we can have a proper awards season) however I still think Oppenheimer will be this years big winner. After seeing Killers on Thursday, as much as I enjoyed the film, I did not leave the theater saying “that was an absolute masterpiece” the way I did with Oppenheimer. The film is really good and keeps your attention for every second it is playing, but for my money I found the second part of the movie (anything after Jesse Plemons character enters the film) to be far better than the first part of the movie. And from what I have read, that was actually the focus of the original script. Of course that is just my opinion, and as I said, Chris Bumbray found the film to be absolutely perfect. Also, who am I to question a master such as Martin Scorsese?!

Rounding out the top five are Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie coming in around $5 million in third place with fifth place going to The Exorcist: Believer at around $4 million but right between the two of them is the classic Christmas movie (that’s right, I said it’s a Christmas movie!) The Nightmare Before Christmas which is seeing a 30th anniversary re-release in 1,650 theaters and pulling in a respectable $4.3 million. If you get the chance, I recommend seeing this one in 3D as it is a beautiful conversion that truly adds to the magic of the film. 

What are your thoughts on Killers of the Flower Moon? Was it the masterpiece some proclaim it to be or did you start to feel that three and a half hour run time? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to check back tomorrow when we have a full run down on this weekend’s box office numbers