‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Global Box Office Thrives Despite Digital Debut

Director Martin Scorsese’s epic crime film, Killers of the Flower Moon, is still breathing at the box office despite being available on digital. The Apple Original, which received a huge theatrical release in something of a first for the studio, has pretty much reached the end of its run. This weekend, the film grossed over half-a-million globally, generating around $400,000 from international territories and roughly $200,000 domestically.

Killers of the Flower Moon has made a little over $66 million in domestic theaters so far, and another $88 million from overseas territories, for a cumulative global haul of $155 million. Produced on a reported budget of $200 million, the film won’t be counted as a theatrical hit, but it was never really meant to be one. Apple is essentially using its theatrical run as advertising for its eventual release on its Apple TV+ streaming service, which should be right around the corner. In a bit of a surprising move, Killers of the Flower Moon took the PVOD route before landing on streaming.

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and the standout Lily Gladstone, the film premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and opened theatrically to positive reviews a couple of months ago. Apple used the same strategy with director Ridley Scott’s nearly as long, but significantly less well-received historical epic, Napoleon, some weeks later. Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Napoleon has passed the $170 million mark globally.

‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Hasn’t Recover Its $200 Million Budget

Based on the non-fiction book of the same name by writer David Grann, the film’s box office performance is nothing to scoff at, considering the various factors that were working against it. For one, it runs three and a half hours long, which significantly reduces the number of screenings that can be squeezed in a single day. Secondly, Killers of the Flower Moon is rated R, which also restricts exhibition. But most importantly, the film tackles a particularly dark period in American history, telling the grim true-life tale of the systemic murder of Osage Indians a century ago.

While reviews for the movie have been excellent — Killers of the Flower Moon sits at a “fresh” 93% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes — the film has generated some controversy. Scorsese retooled the film’s original script almost entirely, choosing to discard its planned procedural approach in favor of a more intimate psychological drama. Despite that, complaints have been raised about its perceived sympathetic portrayal of DiCaprio’s murderous character. You can watch Killers of the Flower Moon in theaters and at home, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

Watch Now