‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ $23 Million Opening Kicks Off Apple’s Movie Master Plan

Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” opened in 3,628 theaters this weekend courtesy of Paramount and Apple, doing $23 million in domestic business in the widest-ever theatrical film release and highest reported opening weekend for a film from a streaming studio.

The historical drama won’t be alone in that club for long. Apple is set to roll out a new strategy for its movies over the coming months, partnering with big-name filmmakers and legacy studios to bring their movies to theaters nationwide. The slate includes Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” and Matthew Vaughn’s “Argylle.”

“Apple left a lot of money and prestige on the table when they spent all this money to buy ‘CODA’ and it won Best Picture, but it didn’t get the audience that it could have,” Boxoffice editor Daniel Loria said. “Films like ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ and ‘Napoleon’ are a sign to me that Apple is seeing how the theatrical experience can elevate a film.”

For “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Apple entered the picture after Scorsese took a sharp creative turn with his historical epic. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, the legendary director said that Paramount originally signed on to produce the film as a direct adaptation of David Grann’s 2017 nonfiction book about how the FBI’s origins were rooted in the investigation of the murders of dozens — if not hundreds — of Osage people in Oklahoma by white ranchers looking to take their oil-rich land.

Scorsese said Paramount dropped out of the project after the film’s budget ballooned. And after he and lead star Leonardo DiCaprio and the film’s team met with the Osage community, DiCaprio convinced the director to shift the film’s focus from the FBI and to Mollie Burkhart, the Osage woman who survived being poisoned by her white husband, Ernest.

That’s when Apple stepped in to produce the $200 million budgeted film as well as handle marketing, leading Paramount to rejoin the project as a theatrical distribution partner while also handling media buys for the film’s trailers and commercials. This weekend, “Killers of the Flower Moon” opened to $23 million domestically and $44 million worldwide while earning strong audience reception to go with critical acclaim.

If this were a $200 million tentpole from a traditional legacy studio, a $44 million global opening would be enough to declare the film a box office bust. But rival distributors who spoke to TheWrap note that Apple Original Films, which is flush with cash as a division of the Silicon Valley tech behemoth, doesn’t have to play by those rules.

“With the amount they make from computers, smartwatches and other products, giving Scorsese a tentpole budget is a rounding error in Apple’s books,” one executive said. “Partnering on theatrical distribution clearly makes more financial sense to them as a theatrical run is a giant marketing campaign for streaming.”

The executive noted that Apple’s blend of legacy studio partners, famous filmmakers, and full theatrical runs is a variation on the strategies other streamers have employed in the past. Despite grumblings from theaters and rival execs, Netflix has held firm to its strategy of curtailed theatrical runs for its highest profile films, including Scorsese’s 2019 film “The Irishman” and has now brought AMC Theaters onboard for high profile films like last year’s “Glass Onion” and the upcoming “Maestro.”

Then there’s Amazon Studios, which like Apple Original Films has the benefit of being part of a larger corporation flush with cash from non-media divisions. In its early years, Amazon Studios partnered with indie distributors Roadside Attractions, IFC Films and Magnolia Pictures to release awards contenders like “Manchester By The Sea.”

With the acquisition of MGM and United Artists, Amazon now has its own in-house distribution wing and has put it to use with the recent release of Ben Affleck’s “Air.” The film only made a modest $90 million worldwide from its full theatrical run but got such a release in an effort to attract audiences to Amazon Prime and to build a relationship with Affleck and Artists Equity, the production company he founded with Matt Damon.

Like Amazon’s “Air” strategy and unlike Netflix, Apple is buying into the belief that a full theatrical release will increase interest in a film when it gets released on streaming. That will put a smile on movie theater execs’ faces, as they have been making that argument for years now.

It will also please filmmakers like Scorsese and “Napoleon” director Ridley Scott, both of whom have spoken in support of preserving the theatrical experience. Scott also noted in a recent interview with Empire Magazine that the partnership Sony/Columbia and Apple have made on releasing “Napoleon” gives him both a full theatrical release at Thanksgiving and the ability to release an extended cut of the film on Apple TV+.

If this model works, Apple’s willingness to spend big bucks may create a new avenue for filmmakers to bring original, non-franchise, wide-release films to theaters. When Apple first waded into theatrical releasing with a truncated window for “CODA” in 2021, theaters were pushing back hard on the day-and-date experiments that streamers and legacy studios alike were trying out.

Now, while production backlogs and strikes have been major hurdles, theater owners are seeing the number of films on their screens slowly rise back to pre-pandemic levels, and more wide release partnerships by Apple would be a welcome addition to that trend for all involved. While Paramount and Apple declined to comment for this story, insiders at Paramount say they’ve been pleased with Apple as a partner on “Flower Moon.” And while the two companies haven’t discussed future films to release together, the insiders wouldn’t rule it out.

“It’s a pretty good relationship,” one rival distribution executive told TheWrap. “Paramount and Sony get to maintain relationships with top directors, and Apple gets to save the money they would need to spend on building a distribution wing and maybe learn a thing or two about how these legacy studios handle these big-budget, non-IP titles.”

The ideal scenario for Apple, as well as Paramount and Sony, starts with weeks of word-of-mouth-fueled theatrical performance for “Flower Moon” and “Napoleon,” leading into an awards season where both films get several Oscar nominations to boost interest among audiences to watch — or rewatch — those films when they hit Apple TV+ early next year.

In the case of “Flower Moon,” Oscar contender status seems all but assured with the acclaim it is getting. Paramount and Apple are hoping the strong audience reception will bring in more moviegoers who might be on the fence about seeing it due to its dark subject matter or its runtime of three hours and 26 minutes.

Distribution execs at Paramount say they believe it will take more time for Scorsese’s fans to turn out to this film, as its release outside of summer playtime will lead a good chunk of the core audience to wait until their personal schedule gives them the four hours needed to see “Flower Moon” in a theater.

Even if “Flower Moon” and “Napoleon” yield decent theatrical runs and boost Apple TV+ subscribers early next year, Matthew Vaughn’s “Argylle” will likely be a better gauge of the long-term viability of Apple’s strategy. The streamer is partnering with Universal to release the spy thriller, which stars Henry Cavill in the eponymous role, in 2024.

With films like “Kick-Ass” and “Kingsman” to his name, Vaughn may not have the clout of Scorsese or Scott but he is definitely a Hollywood veteran, and his upcoming spy film will likely have a smaller budget than either of those legends’ films.

“This will attract filmmakers, getting the promise of a theatrical release and the chance to fulfill their original vision with less pressure of needing to kill it at the box office,” Loria said. “If that brings more original films to theaters, that is the best possible role I think exhibitors can hope for streamers like Apple to have in the space.”

Still, one rival exec issued a word of caution about seeing Apple as a new oasis for original theatrical fare. The exec pointed to “Flora and Son,” a well-received Sundance film that was acquired for nearly $20 million by Apple and got one week of theatrical play before hitting streaming.

“Even if this strategy works, Apple is still following the strategy of other streamers and buying up festival films at prices that independent distributors can’t hope to match,” the exec said. “Most of those films then skip a full theatrical window, even in limited release. There are limits to Apple’s new commitment to exhibition.”

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