"ELVIS" (2022) Reviews etc.

[ColinB]

Wow, what a review. I still haven't seen the film, frustratingly, but I'm more reassured now. Thanks for posting it.

I've been to see it again & enjoyed it even more !

The jerky, jumpy filming style of Baz Luhrmann means some bits come-and-go so quickly they don't register in the mind in one viewing !

[Private Presley]

Elvis’ Movie Crosses $210 Million at Global Box Office
BY
RAHUL MALHOTRA
The movie has made nearly $120 million domestically.

Director Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, which is now playing in every last one of its releasing markets, added another $6.7 million from 73 overseas territories this weekend, taking its international total to nearly $92 million. Globally, the rock and roll biopic has amassed $210 million. The film jumped by 15% in the U.K. this weekend, while Latin American territories registered a marginal 18% drop.

This is a solid result for a formidably long, adult-skewing drama that debuted in the wake of similar films tanking at the box office. Prior to Elvis’ success, other big-budget movies geared toward older audiences — The Last Duel and West Side Story to name just a couple — bombed notoriously. Perhaps the sole survivor was House of Gucci, which legged it to $156 million worldwide on the back of a buzzy Lady Gaga performance and a true crime-friendly plot.

Starring Austin Butler as the King of Rock and Roll, and Tom Hanks as his much-maligned manager Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis is Luhrmann’s first film since 2013’s The Great Gatsby. That movie concluded its worldwide theatrical run with over $350 million, thanks mostly to Leonardo DiCaprio’s star-power and the film’s revisionist take on a story set in the 1920s.


While Elvis may not surpass The Great Gatsby’s worldwide haul, it’s already the fourth-biggest Warner Bros. title of the last three years, having passed the domestic box office totals of two major pandemic-era blockbusters distributed by the studio — director Denis Villeneuve’s science-fiction epic Dune ($108 million), and Adam Wingard’s monster mashup Godzilla vs. Kong ($100 million). It should be noted that both those movies debuted day-and-date on the HBO Max streaming service, and played in theaters at a time when audiences were more worried about the pandemic.



https://collider.com/elvis-movie-210-mi ... ox-office/

[Private Presley]

‘Elvis’ Dances Past $250 Million at the Global Box Office

Audiences couldn't help but fall in love with Baz Luhrmann's maximalist biopic.
BY
RAHUL MALHOTRA


Much like The King of Rock and Rock himself, director Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis is still making noise well past its prime. The second-biggest music biopic of all time (behind Bohemian Rhapsody) passed the $250 million mark at the global box office in its seventh week of release, with a VOD debut looming.

Elvis added $4.5 million this weekend from 70 markets, pushing its overseas gross to $114 million. Domestically, the film made $3.7 million this weekend, taking its total to $136 million. Elvis’ success marks a much-needed win for adult-skewing dramas in the pandemic era, after infamous flops such as Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel and Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story. All three films came with hefty budgets ranging from $85 million (Elvis) to $100 million each for The Last Duel and West Side Story. The sole outlier during this unfortunate phase was Scott’s other 2021 drama, House of Gucci, which made $156 million worldwide against a reported $75 million budget — thanks mostly to Lady Gaga’s buzzy performance and a true crime-friendly plot.

At nearly 160 minutes long and featuring some of Luhrmann’s most extravagantly idiosyncratic filmmaking, Elvis' success was hardly written in stone. While reviews have been largely favorable, criticism has been directed at Lurhmann’s decision to frame the story through the perspective of Presley’s controversial manager, Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). Virtually everybody, however, was in agreement about Austin Butler’s star-making central performance.

Elvis is also the second highest-grossing film of Luhrmann’s career, behind 2013’s The Great Gatsby. That film grossed $350 million worldwide at the peak of the 3D era, thanks mostly to Leonardo DiCaprio’s star-power. While Elvis will most likely not surpass The Great Gatsby’s worldwide haul, it’s already the biggest Warner Bros. title of the pandemic, having passed the domestic box office totals of two major blockbusters distributed by the studio — director Denis Villeneuve’s science-fiction epic Dune ($108 million), and Adam Wingard’s monster mashup Godzilla vs. Kong ($100 million). It should be noted that both those films debuted day-and-date on the HBO Max streaming service, and were released at a time when the public was more cautious about falling sick.

Elvis will be available for Premium Digital Ownership and for Video OnDemand rental on August 9, and will later be released on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-Ray, and DVD on September 13. You can watch our interview with Luhrmann here, and read the film’s official synopsis down below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfdaSLK ... Interviews


https://collider.com/elvis-global-box-o ... 0-million/

[ColinB]

Although not eligible for the UK official album charts, the 'Elvis' CD has been accepted on the 'Soundtrack' chart:

[Private Presley]

‘Elvis’ Producer Gail Berman on Film’s Box Office Success, Oscar Chances and the Revelation of Austin Butler

By Brent Lang

After Warner Bros. executives signed off on the risky decision to bankroll their $90 million look at the life of Elvis Presley with a little-known actor portraying the hip-swinging rocker, producer Gail Berman reached for her phone. She wanted to immortalize the moment for Austin Butler, the man who reportedly beat out the likes of Ansel Elgort and Miles Teller to land the kind of role that can make a career.

“I needed to take a photo of all these people sitting around after they made a decision that was going to mark a major change in Austin’s life,” says Berman. “It was wonderful that they saw from his screen test just how good he was, and that they were ready to support him on this journey.”

The studio’s bold bet on Butler paid off handsomely. The young star has earned Oscar buzz and rave reviews for “Elvis,” in which he charts Presley’s rise to the top of the charts, as well as his struggles with addiction and personal problems. The movie has also become an unlikely box office juggernaut. Despite debuting in late June, at the height of popcorn season, “Elvis” has grossed nearly $150 million domestically and more than $276 million globally, an impressive figure for a film that is superhero-less. Credit, Berman says, also has to go to Tom Hanks, who portrays Presley’s shady manager Col. Tom Parker, and director Baz Luhrmann, the Australian auteur behind “Moulin Rouge!” and “Romeo + Juliet,” who injected his trademark sizzle and sparkle into the proceedings.

“People love Tom and there was all this excitement about Austin as a new star,” says Berman. “And everyone was so anxious to get back in theaters and see something that was well reviewed, so a lot of things came together to push this over the top and make it Baz’s No. 1 domestic film.”

Yes, that’s right, “Elvis” has now outgrossed not just “Moulin Rouge,” but also “The Great Gatsby,” which starred none other than Leonardo DiCaprio. Berman says Luhrmann’s track record of creating pop-inflected stories helped drive business.

“Branded entertainment isn’t just about having superheroes,” says Berman. “Directors are brands. Baz Luhrmann’s brand is attractive to adult audiences. They know ‘Gatsby,’ they know ‘Moulin Rouge,’ many of them remember and love ‘Strictly Ballroom.’ Baz is one of the few filmmakers that has that kind of connection with viewers.”

The success of “Elvis,” as well as Sony’s literary adaptation “Where the Crawdads Sing,” another commercially successful adult drama that premiered this summer, shows that older crowds, previously written off during the pandemic, haven’t gotten out of the moviegoing habit.

“I’ve done a lot of films for young people, and I’ve done a lot of films for older people,” says Berman, who co-founded The Jackal Group after top jobs at Fox Broadcasting and Paramount. “People will show up if there’s something high-quality for them to see.”

“Elvis” also benefitted from patience. In the wake of COVID, studios have dramatically cut back on the amount of time that movies are exclusively in theaters. Most studios are releasing films on-demand between 17 days to 45 days after they premiere in theaters. “Elvis” had an exclusive theatrical run that was more than 60 days.

“We had a longer window, and that allowed the movie to catch on and enabled people to appreciate the reviews and for the word-of-mouth to grow,” says Berman. “It allowed it to gestate.”

It also allowed younger audiences to catch up with the film. Berman says the initial ticket buyers were older and grew up listening to Presley’s music. As the weeks went on, a new generation of fans decided to check out the movie.

Luhrmann may be a much-loved filmmaker, but he has only been nominated for a single Oscar and that was for producing “Moulin Rouge!” Will “Elvis” finally land him a best director nomination?

“He did a tremendous job directing this film,” says Berman. “I’d love to see that recognized.”

https://variety.com/2022/film/news/elvi ... 235354498/

[Alan]

Yes, I wonder what awards and what catagories the film could be nominated for.
There's still more to come in the public eye with this film other than its release on blu-ray.

[Private Presley]

I am sure Butler will be nominated for Best Actor.
But I am not a fan of the Oscar.
Some of the best actors never won any award.

[Alan]

Copy of screenplay.
      

Elvis-The-Screenplay.pdf

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