‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ fails to dethrone Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour film at box office

Martin Scorsese's crime epic Killers of the Flower Moon had an impressive opening weekend at the box office, grossing $23 million in North America, but that’s still no match for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour film, which is still no. 1.

Adding to its success, the film earned an additional $21 million from 63 international territories, bringing its global total to $44 million.

Despite its impressive performance, Killers of the Flower Moon couldn't surpass Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour, which retained the top spot with $31 million. The concert film has become the first in history to spend two consecutive weekends at No. 1 and has exceeded $100 million at the domestic box office in record time.

Distributed by AMC Theatres, the self-produced film by Swift, with a production cost of approximately $15 million, has proven to be a commercial triumph. Its marketing expenses were also lower than those typically associated with major blockbusters.

The R-rated film, with its lengthy three-and-a-half-hour runtime is based on David Grann's novel from 2017 and featuring Lily Gladstone and Jesse Plemons. The story unfolds during the "Reign of Terror," a period marked by a series of mysterious murders following the discovery of oil deposits on Osage nation's land in the 1920s.

Killers of the Flower Moon is Scorsese's strongest start since 2010's Shutter Island, which debuted with $41 million, and it has achieved this feat without the active promotion of its stars, Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, due to the ongoing actors' strike.