‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ breaks all box office expectations with $141m opening weekend
The Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody had its share of dramatic teething problems.
But it’s more than made up for it with a remarkable weekend performance at the box office that was well above expectations.
The movie, which cost US$72 million to make, went into instant profit with a globally tally of $141 million.
That was made up of $50 million in the US from 4,000 locations and a further $72.5 million from 64 international markets.
In the US it enjoyed the second largest break-out for any music bio, after NWA’s Straight Outta Compton which brought in $60.2 million in its first weekend.
Australia was one of the major performers for Bohemian Rhapsody, taking in $5.4 million in the first weekend, after opening on 510 screens.
Other major markets were the UK (which had an early start and now is at $26.5 million), France ($7.7 million), Mexico ($5.8 million), Germany ($5.7 million), South Korea ($5.7 million), Spain ($4.8 million) and the Netherlands ($1.6 million).
This weekend the movie opens in 14 more markets, including Japan where Queen enjoyed massive popularity.
One of the reasons for the better-than-expected performance is that it’s drawing a greater younger audience to a movie about a figure whose biggest success was in the 1970s and 1980s.
PostTrak put 17% of the US audience from the 18—24 age group, and 26% from the 25—34 demo.
The 35—44 and 45—54 made up 17% each, while 55 and over were 14%.
The audience split was 51% female and 49% male.
These were similar to the age group split for A Star Is Born which had a modern day rock star in Lady Gaga in the lead.
In Australia, A Star is Born remains strong in its third week, with its box office grosses here close to $20 million after a first weekend of $6 million.
Possibly Queen had a greater relevance among younger groups with anthems as ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘We Are The Champions’ staples not only on rock radio but at sporting events.
Bohemian Rhapsody took six years to come to light, with changes in actors and directors, and accusations it was toning down Mercury’s sexuality.
Original director Bryan Singer was dismissed midway when accused of sexual assault and improper on-set conduct.
The choice of Rami Malek was initially met with apprehension but his performance has been universally applauded.
In Australia this week, the movie soundtrack jumped three spots to #2 on the ARIA chart.
Two other Queen albums moved up the chart this week: Greatest Hits is up 14 to #11 and The Platinum Collection has climbed 11 to #18.
In the US the soundtrack has given Queen their 17th Top 40 album.
The music video for ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ has had 670 million views, averaging 1 million a day in the run-up to the movie’s opening.