Quentin Tarantino has been threatening to retire for years, but his career doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. The famed director just nailed his best box office opening yet with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
The highly-anticipated film opened to $40.3 million at the domestic box office this weekend, including Thursday previews of $5.8 million. According to Deadline, some die-hard fans have already seen the nearly three hour film three times in one weekend. The 1969 throwback flick performed best on both coasts, counting Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and San Diego among its top-earning cities.
Hollywood stands out among the clutter of superhero flicks that usually drive the summer box office, but the film owes much of its must-see status to its star power. With top Hollywood heavyweights like Brad Pitt, Leonoardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie receiving top billing, the high-profile film had been picking up steam for months before its release.
Meanwhile, Tarantino boasts plenty of star power himself. According to Deadline, nearly half of the film’s audience said that Tarantino is their primary reason for seeing the movie. It also drummed up additional hype earlier this year at Cannes, where its premiere marked the 25th anniversary of Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, the mega hit that made the director a household name.
Sony paid the price for a big hit with Hollywood. Deadline reported that the film needs to make just over $400 million at the worldwide box office in order to break even.
Despite becoming a personal record for Tarantino, Hollywood is still trailing significantly behind The Lion King, which earned an additional $76.5 million over the weekend, following an opening domestic box office of $191.8 million.
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