‘Elvis’ is king, alone, of box office after final tallies

By JAKE COYLE
AP Film Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — “Elvis” has won its box-office dance-off with “Top Gun: Maverick.” After the two films reported the same ticket sales Sunday, Monday’s final numbers has “Elvis,” alone, as king of the weekend.

“Elvis” ultimately grossed $31.1 million from Friday to Sunday, according to Warner Bros.’ final figures Monday. That’s a touch above the $30.5 million the studio forecast on Sunday. When film studios report box office on Sunday, they’re able to fairly accurately predict Sunday’s ticket sales.

Paramount Pictures, on the other hand, slightly overestimated how “Top Gun: Maverick” fared in its fifth weekend. After the studio reported the same $30.5 million for the “Top Gun” sequel on Sunday, the studio’s final number came in at $29.6 million.

Regardless, both films performed well. Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley biopic opened above expectations, and brought out large numbers of older moviegoers — a segment of the audience that’s been slow to return to theaters during the pandemic.

“Top Gun: Maverick” continued to hold remarkably well, dipping a modest 34% percent in its fifth weekend. Overall, the Joseph Kosinski-directed film starring Tom Cruise has earned about $1 billion worldwide, including more than $520 million domestically.