Proving that an auteur-driven drama can hold its own against an action tentpole, Baz Luhrmann's effervescent The Great Gatsby opened to $51.1 million at the North American box office in a major win for Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow Pictures, The Hollywood Reporter said.
Gatsby, outpacing expectations, came in at No. 2 behind holdover Iron Man 3, which took in $72.5 million in its second weekend for a domestic cume of $284.9 million. Overseas, the Disney and Marvel Studios goliath grossed $89.3 million for an international total of $664.1 million and worldwide haul of nearly $950 million.
Luhrmann's 3D adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel is easily the Australian director's best opening to date and also reinforces Leonardo DiCaprio's box-office prowess among the female set. The actor, playing the iconic and mysterious Jay Gatsby, stars opposite Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire and Joel Edgerton.
The stellar domestic launch bodes well for Gatsby's international premiere at the Cannes Film Festival's opening night on May 15. It also bodes well for Luhrmann, considering that Gatsby has already out-earned the entire domestic run of his last film Australia ($49.6 million), as well as almost catching with up with the final domestic cume of Moulin Rouge! ($57.4 million).
