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Elvis Becomes Only Original Movie in Box Office Top 10 for 2022
Elvis has entered the domestic box office Top 10 for 2022, and is now the only original film on the list. The film, which is a maximalist biopic of Elvis Presley starring Austin Butler as the iconic crooner, was helmed by Moulin Rouge! and Romeo + Juliet director Baz Luhrmann. The film follows Elvis from his origins in a poor Mississippi family to the decadence of his later career before his death, tracking his life through the eyes of his manipulative manager Colonel Tom Parker (Tom Hanks). The ensemble cast also includes Olivia DeJonge as Priscilla Presley, David Wenham as Hank Snow, and Oscar nominee Kodi Smit-McPhee as Jimmie Rodgers Snow.
Elvis has been a consistent performer at the box office since its premiere on June 24. In its opening weekend, it took in $32.1 million, beating out the weekend's other release The Black Phone and knocking the legacy sequel Jurassic World Dominion out of its #1 perch. Since then, its total gross has risen to $281.9 million worldwide, off a budget of $85 million. While this might not seem particularly impressive proportionally, given its high budget, it is the fourth highest-grossing Australian production ever, as well as the second highest-grossing music biopic in history behind Bohemian Rhapsody, which earned an Oscar for Rami Malek as Queen's Freddie Mercury.
Elvis has now surpassed $150 million in the domestic box office. This total has landed it at the #9 slot in the Top 10 domestic films of the year, just ahead of the Tom Holland video game adaptation Uncharted. In fact, Elvis is the only original film on the list, which also includes Sonic the Hedgehog 2, 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home, Thor: Love and Thunder, Minions: The Rise of Gru, The Batman, Jurassic World Dominion, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and the legacy sequel megahit, Top Gun: Maverick.
One thing that is important to note is that, while Elvis is an original film, it is based on the life of one of music history's most well-known stars. Luckily for fans of original filmmaking, the next truly original film on the list is at #11: Jordan Peele's alien invasion film Nope. Beyond that, at the time of writing, the Top 25 also includes the original projects The Lost City, Everything Everywhere All At Once, and Dog, which is a reasonably solid yearly showing for original films in the modern era.
There are still three and a half months left in the year for other films to prove their box office might. It will probably be the case that Elvis won't maintain its ranking amid the onslaught of upcoming IP films like Black Adam, Halloween Ends, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and the long-awaited James Cameron sequel Avatar: The Way of Water. However, it will more than likely at least retain a slot in the Top 25, proving that there is a place for original filmmaking in 2022, even if it looks different than it might have 20 years ago.
