Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt’s star quality might have lent a hand in the director’s career record-breaking film debut.
Once Upon a Time…In Hollywood, viewers may have seen Leonardo DiCaprio as a fading star, but that’s far from the real-life truth of the actor’s stardom. In its opening weekend, the film raked in about USD 40.4 million in domestic sales as tickets sold in theaters across Canada and the United States.
Tarantino’s 9th and possibly penultimate movie in his career as a filmmaker rivals his 2009 war flick “Inglourious Basterds” for his best opening weekend ever.
While Tarantino’s films have a steady following of cinephiles, having two of the biggest names in Hollywood may have helped the cause. DiCaprio stars as Rick Dalton opposite Pitt’s Cliff Booth in a story that combines fact and fiction as real-life figures like Margot Robbie’s Sharon Tate is featured in the film.
“Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” was received with generally positive reviews from critics. As of this writing, the film has a 86% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. A.O. Scott of The New York Times noted in a review that the film “will stand as a source of debate — and delight — for as long as we care about movies.”
While the film may have reached a record-breaking height for Tarantino, it only managed to take the second spot at the box office with Disney’s live-action Lion King remake ahead of it. The Donald Glover and Beyonce-headlined film sold USD75.5 million in domestic revenue.