Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Courtesy of Columbia PicturesOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood has zoomed past the $200 million mark at the global box office, a feat accomplished by only one other original film this year.
Through Thursday, Quentin Tarantino‘s ninth film — starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt — stood at $208.5 million worldwide (by Sunday, that number should approach $250 million).
That’s not the only milestone Tarantino and Sony are celebrating. The film is set to pass Inglourious Basterds ($120.8 million) in North America on Saturday to rank as the director’s second-biggest film domestically behind Django Unchained ($162.8 million), not adjusted for inflation. And it’s also set to top Pulp Fiction ($212 million) globally, not adjusted for inflation.
Further, Once Upon a Time is one of the most successful films of all time about Hollywood behind La La Land and Argo.
In an era when franchises and branded IP dominate, filmmaker Jordan Peele and Universal’s profit monster Us ($254.7 million) is the only other original movie this year to have earned $200 million or more at the global box office.
Analysts predict that Once Upon a Time will ultimately earn between $375 million and $400 million globally, ahead of Inglourious Basterds ($316.9 million).
The big question is whether Tarantino’s ode to old Hollywood can catch Django Unchained, which earned a career-best $425.4 million for the filmmaker following its December 2012 release and likewise starred DiCaprio.
Once Upon a Time began rolling out in earnest overseas last weekend, so it has plenty of gas left in the tank in terms of its international run. Major markets yet to open include Japan (Aug. 30), Italy (Sept. 18) and South Korea (Sept. 26). There’s no word yet on a China release date. China’s Bona Film Group co-financed the pic and is handling distribution duties in such Asian markets as Hong Kong.
