QUEEN Biopic 'Bohemian Rhapsody' Far Exceeds Expectations With $50 Million Opening Weekend

November 4, 2018

According to Variety, 20th Century Fox's QUEEN biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody" is on track to sell an estimated $50 million in tickets at 4,000 theaters in the U.S. and Canada this weekend, and another $72.5 million internationally, far exceeding expectations. That will set the mark for the second-best opening for a music biopic in North America, following 2015's "Straight Outta Compton" ($60.2 million).

The long-gestating movie, starring "Mr. Robot"'s Rami Malek as QUEEN lead singer Freddie Mercury, has been pegged for closer to $35 million to $40 million in the U.S. and Canada in its opening weekend.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" opened with $12.5 million in the U.K. last weekend, one of the country's largest 2018 debuts. New Regency co-financed the $52 million biopic, with Graham King producing.

While many reviews have slammed the film for its uninspired storytelling, some people have also taken issue with the movie's depiction of Mercury's sexuality — or rather, its lack thereof. The biopic focuses heavily on the relationship between him and the rock star's former fiancée Mary Austin, who discovers midway through the film that he's cheating on her with other men.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" traces the meteoric rise of QUEEN through its iconic songs and revolutionary sound, its near-implosion as Mercury's lifestyle spirals out of control, and its triumphant reunion on the eve of Live Aid, where Mercury, facing a life-threatening illness, leads the band in one of the greatest performances in the history of rock music — in the process cementing the legacy of a band that were always more like a family, and who continue to inspire outsiders, dreamers and music lovers to this day.

According to Screen Rant, Sacha Baron Cohen and Ben Whishaw were set to play Freddie Mercury at different stages in the movie's development, prior to Malek's casting. Cohen's vision for the film was reportedly very "adult" in tone and clashed with what the surviving members of QUEEN had in mind, leading to the actor's departure.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" began production with "X-Men" director Bryan Singer behind the camera, but the filmmaker was fired from the movie after he disappeared from set and caused production delays. Dexter Fletcher, best known for making "Eddie the Eagle", stepped in to replace Singer in the director's chair.

Find more on Queen
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).