While it didn’t manage to dethrone Disney’s The Lion King from the top of the box office, Quentin Tarantino’s ninth film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has delivered the biggest opening of the filmmaker’s career in North America this weekend.
The R-rated film, which is set in 1969 and features a cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie, debuted in second place at the box office with $40 million across the Friday to Sunday period.
That puts Once Upon a Time… ahead of Tarantino’s previous best opening of $38 million for Inglorious Basterds, and is some $10 million up on original tracking estimates.
Basterds went on to make $321 million worldwide, while Tarantino’s biggest hit to date is Django Unchained which earned $425 million around the globe.
SEE ALSO: Read our review of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood here
SEE ALSO: Quentin Tarantino says he’s written Once Upon a Time in Hollywood spinoff series Bounty Law
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood takes place in Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood. The two lead characters are Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), former star of a western TV series, and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Both are struggling to make it in a Hollywood they don’t recognize anymore. But Rick has a very famous next-door neighbour… Sharon Tate.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio (Django Unchained), Brad Pitt (Inglourious Basterds), Margot Robbie (I, Tonya), Timothy Olyphant (Santa Clarita Diet), Al Pacino (The Godfather), Damien Lewis (Billions), Tim Roth (Reservoir Dogs), Dakota Fanning (Ocean’s 8), Luke Perry (Riverdale), Emile Hirsch (The Autopsy of Jane Doe), James Marsden (Westworld), Clifton Collins Jr. (Westworld), Julia Butters (American Housewife), Keith Jefferson (The Hateful Eight), Nicholas Hammond (The Sound of Music), Scoot McNairy (Halt and Catch Fire), Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs), Spencer Garrett (The Magicians), Martin Kove (Cobra Kai), James Remar (Django Unchained), Brenda Vaccaro (Once Is Not Enough), Nichole Galicia (Django Unchained), Bruce Dern (The Hateful Eight), Mike Moh (Inhumans), Craig Stark (The Hateful Eight), Marco Rodriguez (Inhumans), Ramon Franco (Tour of Duty), Raul Cardona (Where the Sky Is Born), Lena Dunham (Girls), Maya Hawke (Stranger Things), Austin Butler (The Shannara Chronicles), Lorenza Izzo (Knock, Knock), Rumer Willis (Empire), Dreama Walker (Gossip Girl), Margaret Qualley (The Leftovers), Costa Ronin (The Americans), Victoria Pedretti (The Haunting of Hill House), Madisen Beaty (The Master), Danny Strong (Billions), Sydney Sweeney (The Handmaid’s Tale), Rafal Zawierucha (The Pact), Damon Herriman (Justified), and Palm Dog award-winner Brandy.