Disney’s The Lion King may have dominated the box office for the second time this past weekend, but Quentin Tarantino's 9th film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood gave the live-action remake a run for its money, scoring $40,350,000 in its domestic opening weekend, a career high for the maestro! His previous best was $38 million for 2009’s Inglourious Basterds, my personal favorite Tarantino flick.
In comparison, The Hateful Eight made $54 million in its entire domestic run back in 2015, so Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is well on its way to destroying that number!
But man, oh man, did I love this film! I'm sure there is plenty one can dislike about him and this film, but his raw, unapologetic filmmaking I highly respect, it's rare and a blessing in this day and age where Hollywood filmmakers have to compromise their own artistic vision to avoid offending anyone.
Currently sitting at an 85% "Fresh" score on Rotten Tomatoes (it deserves better), the vast majority of critics agree that the 1969-set film is yet again Quentin Tarantino in top form. It's perhaps Tarantino’s most upbeat movie to date, but it's also his most heartfelt and ultimately, mournful. Well, at least in my opinion.
The film just has so much going for it. Unsurprisingly, Tarantino rewrites the Manson Family murders in his own unique way. Both Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt deliver absolutely phenomenal performances, the production design is completely spot-on, cinematography is flawless, and so on. Honestly, I can't even pick a single thing I disliked about the film, and even though it's not in the horror genre, it's my top pick for the year thus far!
It's also worth noting that Sony released Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in nearly 4,000 theaters, more than any other Tarantino film. I do have to point out that with a reported $90 million production budget, the film still has a ways to go in order to be a profitable filmmaking endeavor. But it’s certainly off to a great start!
"The movie follows DiCaprio and Pitt as an aging actor and his longtime stunt double, respectively, who are struggling to find their place in show biz. At the same time, Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), the up-and-coming actress married to director Roman Polanski, moves next door. The drama, which pays tribute to the golden age of Hollywood, is set in the late 1960s against the backdrop of the Manson family murders."
With Tarantino's next film supposedly being his last, he’s no doubt going out on a high note as one of, if not the, greatest filmmaker of our generation.
