With the film’s release to VOD and the long summer movie season coming to a close, it looks like Baz Luhrmann‘s over-the-top Elvis biopic is sailing into the sunset. Luhrmann’s Elvis took in $2 million dollars from the 68 overseas territories in which the film is still in theaters. That is a 35 percent holdover drop from the previous week as the King’s summer outing winds down, having arrived on PVOD earlier this month. This week’s box office brings the running international total for the film to a whopping $125 million dollars, with a worldwide box office of $269.7 million dollars.
Elvis is the second highest-grossing musician biopic in history, behind Bohemian Rhapsody. Released in 2018, the film told the life story of Freddie Mercury, the immensely talented front-man of the rock group Queen, and Rami Malek took home an Oscar for his role as Mercury in the film. Austin Butler‘s rendition of Elvis has, like Malek’s Mercury, garnered an intense amount of praise. Butler’s dedication to the role extended to vocal training, accent work, and a thick slick of dyed black hair over his signature blond hair — a move that mirrors Elvis’s own dyed black, naturally blond hair.
Butler even sang many of Elvis’ signature songs in the film, as the composer blended his vocals with the singer’s for the most authentic performance. Luhrmann is such a natural fit for who could translate tremendous Elvis’ life to film. His penchant for intense colors, glitter, and glamour is perfectly suited for Elvis’ life and aesthetic, which tended towards sequined jumpsuits, bright colors, and some very stiff pompadour. It all comes together in the film to present a heavily stylized study of one of the most captivating musical artists of our time.
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Along with Butler, the film starred Tom Hanks as the artist’s manipulative and villainous manager Colonel Tom Parker and Olivia DeJonge as Priscilla Presley. Elvis was originally released to theaters in the United States on June 24, 2022, and is now available to rent on Video On Demand. The film is now available to rent on VOD services including Prime Video, Vudu, and YouTube.
You can watch Collider’s interview with the film’s director below.
