Elvis edged ahead of The Great Gatsby on Tuesday Aug. 23 to become director/writer/producer Baz Luhrmann’s top-grossing film in the U.S. and Canada. According to boxofficemojo.com, Elvis has grossed $150,471,000 domestically as of Monday (Sept. 19) , a shade more than Luhrmann’s previous film, The Great Gatsby, which has grossed $144,858,000 domestically.
The Great Gatsby continues to be Luhrmann’s top film in global box office, with worldwide receipts of $353,660,000, compared to $284,171,000 for Elvis so far.
Luhrmann, who turned 60 on Sept. 17, has written and directed just six films, but the last five have become box-office hits. Moreover, four of his first five films have received Oscar nominations. Two became double Oscar winners.
Four of his six films as a director have spawned hit soundtracks. Romeo + Juliet and The Great Gatsby both reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200. Moulin Rouge! hit No. 3. Elvis has climbed as high as No. 26.
Luhrmann received both an Oscar nomination for best picture and a Grammy nod for best compilation soundtrack album for his 2001 film classic Moulin Rouge! The 2019 Broadway adaptation of that film swept 10 Tony Awards, including best musical, though Luhrmann wasn’t personally nominated. (He was, however, nominated for another Grammy for his work on the Moulin Rouge! The Musical cast album. Luhrmann also received a Grammy nod for his work on The Great Gatsby soundtrack.)
Like Glee co-creator Ryan Murphy, Luhrmann has a passion for turning contemporary audiences on to great music from all eras. The best example of this may be the “Elephant Love Medley,” a 10-song extravaganza from Moulin Rouge!, which included such wildly diverse songs as David Bowie’s “Heroes,” Thelma Houston’s “Don’t Leave Me This Way” and KISS’ “I Was Made for Lovin’ You.” The lead single from that film, an all-star remake of LaBelle’s “Lady Marmalade,” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for five weeks. Romeo + Juliet included a new version of Candi Staton’s 1976 R&B classic “Young Hearts Run Free” by Kym Mazelle. Elvis includes several updates of Presley classics, including star Austin Butler’s “Trouble,” Maneskin’s “If I Can Dream” and Kacey Musgraves’ “Can’t Help Falling in Love”
Nicole Kidman and Leonardo DiCaprio have each starred in two Luhrmann films. John Leguizamo has co-starred in two. To date, Kidman is the only performer to receive an Oscar nomination for acting in a Luhrmann film. Will Butler, who plays the title role in Elvis, and/or Tom Hanks, whose turn as Col. Tom Parker has received mixed notices, receive Oscar nominations next year? Place your bets.
Here’s a closer look at Luhrmann’s six films to date. They are shown in chronological order:
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Strictly Ballroom (1992)
Domestic box-office: $11,738,000
Global box-office: $11,749,000
Stars: Paul Mercurio, Tara Morice, Bill Hunter, Pat Thomson
Oscar nominations: none
Soundtrack’s Billboard 200 peak: didn’t chart
Soundtrack highlights: John Paul Young’s new version of his 1978 global hit “Love Is in the Air,” now subtitled “(Ballroom Mix);” Doris Day’s “Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps (Quizas Quizas Quizas);” Mark Williams and Tara Morice’s update of Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time;” Johann Straus II’s “The Blue Danube”
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Romeo + Juliet (1996)
Domestic box-office: $46,351,000
Global box-office: $147,555,000
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Claire Danes, John Leguizamo, Harold Perrineau
Oscar nominations (1): art direction
Soundtrack’s Billboard 200 peak: No. 2 (2 weeks)
Soundtrack highlights: The Cardigans’ “Lovefool,” Kym Mazelle’s “Young Hearts Run Free,” Des’ree’s “Kissing You (Love Theme from Romeo + Juliet),” Garbage’s “#1 Crush”
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Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Image Credit: Everett Collection Domestic box-office: $57,387,000
Global box-office: $184,935,000
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Ewan McGregor, John Leguizamo, Jim Broadbent
Oscar nominations (8): best picture, actress (Kidman), art direction (won), costume design (won), cinematography, film editing, make-up, sound
Soundtrack’s Billboard 200 peak: No. 3
Soundtrack highlights: Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya & P!nk’s “Lady Marmalade,” Kidman and McGregor’s “Come What May,” Kidman, McGregor and Jamie Allen’s “Elephant Love Medley”
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Australia (2008)
Domestic box-office: $49,554,000
Global box-office: $211,788,000
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Shea Adams, Eddie Baroo
Oscar nominations (1): costume design
Soundtrack’s Billboard 200 peak: didn’t chart
Soundtrack highlights: Edward Elgar’s “Nimrod,” Elton John’s “The Drover’s Ballad,” Angela Little’s “By the Boab Tree” and “Waltzing Matilda”
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The Great Gatsby (2013)
Domestic box-office: $144,858,000
Global box-office: $353,660,000
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Tobey Macguire
Oscar nominations (2): costume design (won), production design (won)
Soundtrack’s Billboard 200 peak: No. 2 (1 week). The soundtrack’s official title was The Great Gatsby: Music From Baz Luhrmann’s Film
Soundtrack highlights: Lana Del Rey’s “Young and Beautiful;” Fergie, Q Tip and GoonRock’s “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got);” will.i.am’s “Bang Bang” featuring Shelby Spalione
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Elvis (2022)
Domestic box-office: $150,471,000
Global box-office: $284,171,000
Stars: Austin Butler, Tom Hanks, Olivia DeJonge, Helen Thomson
Oscar nominations: to be determined
Soundtrack’s Billboard 200 peak: No. 26 (The billing on the soundtrack is Elvis Presley & Various Artists)
Soundtrack highlights: Doja Cat’s “Vegas,” Swae Lee-Diplo’s “Tupelo Shuffle,” Butler’s “Trouble,” Eminem & Cee Lo Green’s “The King and I,” Maneskin’s “If I Can Dream,” Kacey Musgraves’ “Can’t Help Falling in Love”