‘Elvis’ Beats ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ By $1 Million in Heated Box Office Battle

variety.com:

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterThe King is No. 1 at the domestic box office.After a heated box office battle, “Elvis” emerged victorious over “Top Gun: Maverick” to claim the top spot on North American box office charts.Over the weekend, “Elvis” and “Top Gun: Maverick” were duking it out as the King of Rock and Roll took the No.

1 spot on Friday and dropped to second place on Saturday. Then on Sunday, the films tied for first place in North America, with each reportedly earning an estimated $30.5 million between Friday and Sunday.With the final results tallied on Monday, “Elvis” generated $31.1 million from 3,906 theaters in its box office debut while “Top Gun: Maverick” brought in $29.6 million from 3,948 venues in its fifth weekend in theaters.

Although “Elvis” ultimately took the box office crown, both films were able to post a strong result. For “Elvis,” a $31 million debut is promising for an adult-skewing drama since its core demographic does not traditionally rush out to see a movie on opening weekend.

However, Warner Bros. spent $85 million to produce the film, not accounting for marketing or distribution costs, so “Elvis” has to keep playing in theaters throughout the summer to turn a profit.It’ll help that “Elvis,” a larger-than-life musical biopic starring Austin Butler, has been well-received by audiences, who awarded the film an “A-” CinemaScore.