Warner Bros. Pictures’ Elvis, from filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, crossed the $100 million mark at the domestic box office recently, bringing the film’s worldwide total to over $170 million and counting. The announcement was made by Jeff Goldstein, President of Domestic Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.
Elvis continues to drive box office in part because younger audiences – none of whom were born during Elvis’s lifetime – are embracing the film and leading the enthusiastic social media conversation. Along with the film’s success, the music from the movie is climbing on diverse charts, resulting in a cross-genre reverberation from dance to hip-hop and more, and sales of the Elvis Presley catalog rising, with streaming of his music up 90 percent.
In making the announcement, Goldstein stated, “We are not only pleased to cross this milestone, but truly thrilled to see it happen with a film like Elvis. In today’s market and especially in the summer corridor, to see a non-branded IP with an up-and-coming lead create not just box office noise but also result in a significant spike in other areas is so gratifying and speaks to the quality of the film on every level. With strong playability, positive word of mouth and cross-generational multiple viewings, we expect Elvis to continue to deliver and we congratulate Baz, Austin and everyone involved in the film and the soundtrack on its ongoing success.”
The Elvis Original Motion Picture Soundtrack tops the Billboard soundtrack chart, thanks to such hits as Doja Cat’s Vegas, currently #7 on the U.S. Spotify chart and #14 on the Billboard streaming chart. PNAU, who performs (with Elvis), produced and arranged Don’t Fly Away, provided the legendary Presley with his first-ever appearance on a dance music chart.
On social media, TikTok engagement has more than doubled since the film’s release, with 238 million views of Elvis-related content post-open, and on Twitter, Millennials (ages 25 to 41) represent the largest audience discussing the film since opening, accounting for 47 percent of the total volume; close behind are audiences ages 13 to 34, representing 25 percent of the conversation.
Elvis is an epic, big-screen spectacle from Warner Bros. Pictures and visionary, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Baz Luhrmann that explores the life and music of Elvis Presley, starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks.
A thoroughly cinematic drama, Elvis’s (Butler) story is seen through the lens of his complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Hanks). As told by Parker, the film delves into the complex dynamic between the two spanning over 20 years, from Presley’s rise to fame to his unprecedented stardom, against the backdrop of the evolving cultural landscape and loss of innocence in America. Central to that journey is one of the significant and influential people in Elvis’s life, Priscilla Presley (Olivia DeJonge).
Starring alongside Butler and Hanks, award-winning theater actress Helen Thomson (Top of the Lake: China Girl, Rake) plays Elvis’s mother, Gladys, Richard Roxburgh (Moulin Rouge!, Breath, Hacksaw Ridge) portrays Elvis’s father, Vernon, and DeJonge (The Visit, Stray Dolls) plays Priscilla. Luke Bracey (Hacksaw Ridge, Point Break) plays Jerry Schilling, Natasha Bassett (Hail, Caesar!) plays Dixie Locke, David Wenham (The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Lion, 300) plays Hank Snow, Kelvin Harrison Jr. (The Trial of the Chicago 7, The High Note) plays B.B. King, Xavier Samuel (Adore, Love and Friendship, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) plays Scotty Moore, and Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power of the Dog) plays Jimmie Rodgers Snow.
Also in the cast, Dacre Montgomery (Stranger Things, The Broken Heart Gallery) plays TV director Steve Binder, alongside Australian actors Leon Ford (Gallipoli, The Pacific) as Tom Diskin, Kate Mulvany (The Great Gatsby, Hunters) as Marion Keisker, Gareth Davies (Peter Rabbit, Hunters) as Bones Howe, Charles Grounds (Crazy Rich Asians, Camp) as Billy Smith, Josh McConville (Fantasy Island) as Sam Phillips, and Adam Dunn (Home and Away) as Bill Black.
To play additional iconic musical artists in the film, Luhrmann cast singer/songwriter Yola as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, model Alton Mason as Little Richard, Austin, Texas native Gary Clark Jr. as Arthur Crudup, and artist Shonka Dukureh as Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton.
Oscar nominee Luhrmann (The Great Gatsby, Moulin Rouge!) directed from a screenplay by Baz Luhrmann and Sam Bromell and Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce and Jeremy Doner, story by Baz Luhrmann and Jeremy Doner. The film’s producers are Luhrmann, Oscar winner Catherine Martin (The Great Gatsby, Moulin Rouge!), Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick and Schuyler Weiss. Toby Emmerich, Courtenay Valenti and Kevin McCormick executive produced.
The director’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes director of photography Mandy Walker (Mulan, Australia), Oscar-winning production designer and costume designer Catherine Martin (The Great Gatsby, Moulin Rouge!), production designer Karen Murphy (A Star Is Born), editors Matt Villa (The Great Gatsby, Australia) and Jonathan Redmond (The Great Gatsby), Oscar-nominated visual effects supervisor Thomas Wood (Mad Max: Fury Road), music supervisor Anton Monsted (Australia, Moulin Rouge!) and composer/executive music producer Elliott Wheeler (The Get Down).
A Warner Bros. Pictures Presentation, A Bazmark Production, A Jackal Group Production, A Baz Luhrmann Film, Elvis is distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.