Elvis is adding to the optimism that mid-budget films are not dead yet.
After a heated box office battle against heavy hitter Top Gun: Maverick, the Baz Luhrmann production earned $31.1 million in its domestic debut - slightly edging out Maverick's $29.6 million weekend pull.
As we get through the year, this really indicates that middle tier movies are going to fill more and more, according to Shawn Robbins, chief analyst at Box Office Pro.
He said Jordan Peele's Nope - which is set to debut next month - will be another industry test when it comes to the performance of middle-tier films.
Sixty percent of the Elvis audience was over the age of 35, with the majority of women over the age of 50 — a major win considering that the demographic has been slow to return to theaters.
Elvis is not just a win for Warner Bros, as well as the wide-ranging generational appeal of the film, in addition to the comfort surrounding the theatrical return. It's a win for Hollywood, Robbins said.
This instills a little bit more confidence in putting out movies that appeal to a wider range of demographics - we were pretty far away from that point a year ago, the analyst noted.
Maverick is benefitting from older audiences as well.
The sequel to the 1986 classic has smashed records since its Memorial Day Weekend debut - garnering more than $1 billion worldwide, despite not airing in Russia and China.
I am afraid to put a ceiling on 'Maverick' because it keeps going higher and higher. It's an amazing achievement, according to Robbins, as it's unheard of in the modern era for a film to still be competing for first place five weeks after its release.
Maverick marks Tom Cruise's first $1 billion film, in addition to the first film of the year to reach that ten-digit milestone and only the second in the COVID-era behind Spider-Man: No Way Home. More consumers are choosing to see movies on higher-end screens like IMAX IMAX, as a main driver for films, according to Robbins. The analyst cautioned that this summer's crowded theatrical slate could hurt long-term returns as films compete for limited screen space.
He believes that exhibitors will release certain titles once the market starts to slow down in the fall.
That move will add to overall box office totals and give more options — at least until theaters can return to normal calendar year, according to Robbins. Alexandra is a Senior Entertainment and Food Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow alliecanal 8193 on Twitter and email her at alexandra.canalyahoofinance.com.