Tickets finally go on sale for movie 'Killers of the Flower Moon': Here's how to get them

Advance tickets are now on sale for the upcoming global theatrical debut of the Oklahoma-made movie "Killers of the Flower Moon."

Tickets sales started Monday for the fact-based cinematic epic ahead of its October theatrical debut. Released by Apple Original Films in partnership with Paramount Pictures, "Killers of the Flower Moon" officially will open in wide release simultaneously in theaters around the world on Oct. 20.

But many theaters in Oklahoma and beyond will begin showings on Oct. 19 of director and co-writer Martin Scorsese's historical drama, widely regarded as one of the most anticipated movies of the year.

Sales of advance tickets to see "Killers of the Flower Moon" in premium formats like IMAX and Dolby Cinema as early as Oct. 19 also began Monday.

To go along with the launch of advance ticket sales, Apple Studios released a new 90-second "An Inside Look" featurette for the three-hour and 26-minute film, featuring behind-the-scenes interviews with stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Lily Gladstone as well as with Scorsese.

What is 'Killers of the Flower Moon' about?

With its starry cast and reported $200 million budget, Scorsese's fact-based Western is one of the biggest movie productions ever undertaken in Oklahoma. But it's also chronicling one of the most horrific and often-overlooked chapters in the Sooner State's complicated history.

Filmed in Osage County and the surrounding area in 2021, Scorsese's film is adapted from David Grann's 2017 best-seller “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI" and is based on a dark chapter of Oklahoma history.

Like the National Book Award finalist, the film chronicles the serial murders of Osage Nation citizens in 1920s Oklahoma, after an oil boom made them wealthy. The string of brutal slayings became known as the "Reign of Terror" and led to an investigation by the then-fledgling FBI.

"I was drawn to the idea to tell this terribly tragic story that was never brought to national attention," Scorsese says in the new "An Inside Look" featurette. "One of the key things was that I was drawn to this world where friendship and love existed with blatant extortion, exploitation and murder."

Grann's book centers on Mollie Kyle Burkhart, a real-life Osage woman who lived on the tribal settlement of Gray Horse, near Fairfax. During the Reign of Terror, she and her family were marked for death in a vicious scheme to swindle away their oil money.

Gladstone, a Blackfeet and Nimíipuu (or Nez Perce) performer already earning Oscar buzz for her performance, plays Mollie. DiCaprio, an Oscar-winning actor who is also producing through his Appian Way Productions, portrays her duplicitous husband, Ernest Burkhart, a World War I veteran who moves to Osage County at the behest of his uncle, William K. Hale (fellow Oscar winner Robert De Niro).

Ernest soon finds himself in a tug-of-war between the wife he grows to love and the greedy, murderous plot to steal her fortune masterminded by Hale, a powerful rancher and businessman who proclaims himself “King of the Osage Hills."

What does the new 'Inside Look' featurette reveal about the making of 'Killers of the Flower Moon?'

In the new "An Inside Look" featurette, Gladstone describes Hale as "a very enigmatic presence in Osage country," while DiCaprio says the movie's main villain "definitely represented somebody that wanted to take advantage of the situation at all costs."

DiCaprio also says in "An Inside Look" that Scorsese was "obsessed with telling the story with the most honesty that he possibly could."

"There was a need to tell the story for Martin Scorsese," DiCaprio adds in the featurette. "There was something intrinsic in him to do this story justice."

When "Killers of the Flower Moon" made its world premiere in May at the 76th Cannes Film Festival, where it was met with broad critical acclaim and an extended standing ovation, Scorsese said his film was shaped by his interactions in Oklahoma with members of the Osage Nation, whom he sought out as collaborators early on in the multi-year process of bringing the sprawling story to the silver screen.

"There's a sinister nature of the murders of the Osage people," Scorsese says in the newly released video. "I wanted to do justice to the Osage so that the audience feels the immensity of the tragedy."

In July, Apple Studios hosted a private screening and star-studded event in Tulsa for Osage Nation citizens who worked on the eagerly awaited film, as well as for tribal elders and leaders.

How to get get advance tickets to 'Killers of the Flower Moon' in theaters

Advance tickets to "Killers of the Flower Moon" are available at https://www.killersoftheflowermoonmovie.com or at https://www.fandango.com/killers-of-the-flower-moon-2023-232014/movie-overview.

Cinephiles can find IMAX screenings of "Killers of the Flower Moon" at https://www.imax.com/movies/killers-flower-moon.

Film fans also can go online to their favorite local theater's website to buy advance tickets.

"Killers of the Flower Moon" is tracking to make $27 million to $36 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend, according to BoxOfficePro.com. The site is forecasting a total domestic box office take of $90 million to $134 million for Scorsese's new movie, which is strong for a prestige film with a nearly 3 1/2-hour run time.

Those numbers don't take into account the film's potential international box office haul, nor the Oscar buzz and other attention that Apple Studios expects to gain for the movie's subsequent streaming debut.

Following the film's global theatrical run, "Killers of the Flower Moon" will debut on Apple TV+. The date it will begin streaming has not been announced.   

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: 'Killers of the Flower Moon' tickets are on sale; here's how to buy