Movie

The Baz Luhrman-directed Elvis Presley biopic and the Tom Cruise-starring sequel finish neck-and-neck with $30.5 million each over the weekend, with the final results to be tallied on Monday.

• Jun 27, 2022

AceShowbiz - It's a tight race at the North American box office this week, with both "Elvis" and "Top Gun: Maverick" vying for the top spot. In an unusually close battle, the Elvis Presley biopic and the "Top Gun" sequel have tied for the first place, with each film bringing in an estimated $30.5 million over the weekend.

"Elvis" and "Top Gun: Maverick" were neck-and-neck all weekend as the Baz Luhrman-directed musical drama took the No. 1 spot on Friday, June 24, but dropped to the second place on Saturday, June 25. Final figures are expected on Monday, when the ultimate winner will be revealed. Studios can accurately forecast Sunday sales based on Friday and Saturday business, but numbers often shift by a few hundred thousand dollars.

Regardless of which film comes out on top, it's a strong result for both movies. "Elvis" debuted better than expectation of around $25 million. "I'm less concerned with who's No. 1 and who's No. 2, and I'm more concerned that we hit this big number, given that this audience has been the slowest to return to movie theaters," said Jeff Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros.

The movie received majorly positive reviews from critics, with an average rating of 6.8/10 on Rotten Tomatoes. Moviegoers gave it an A- on CinemaScore as people over the age of 35 made up about 65% of the audience.

" 'Elvis' was a risky proposition: the music is dated, the character is not directly familiar, and the lead actor is unproven on the big screen," David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research weighed in on the movie. "But critics and audiences are responding. This is the Baz Luhrmann show, a music, dance and sex appeal spectacular - it's a hit."

Meanwhile, in its fifth week, "Top Gun: Maverick" continued to soar. The Tom Cruise-starrer has brought in a total of $521.7 million domestically and $484.7 million overseas to cross the $1 billion mark globally.

At No. 3 is "Jurassic World: Dominion", which added an estimated $26.4 million on its third weekend. New release "The Black Phone" opens at No. 4 with approximately $23.4 million, surpassing expectations. The horror movie from director Scott Derrickson and starring Ethan Hawke cost only $18 million to produce, easily bringing in profits at this rate.

"Lightyear" is pushed down three places to No. 5. On its second weekend, the "Toy Story" spin-off bagged an estimated $17.7 million after failing to make a stellar launch last week. It has so far brought in $88.7 million domestically and $63.6 million internationally for a worldwide gross of $152.4 million.

Top 10 of North America Box Office (Jun. 24-26, 2022):

1. "Elvis" - $30.5 million
2. "Top Gun: Maverick" - $30.5 million
3. "Jurassic World: Dominion" - $26.4 million
4. "The Black Phone" - $23.4 million
5. "Lightyear" - $17.7 million
6. "Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness" - $1.7 million
7. "Jug Jugg Jeeyo" - $725,000
8. "Everything Everywhere All at Once" - $533,346 
9. "The Bob's Burgers Movie" - $513,000 
10. "The Bad Guys" - $439,975