‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ Rockets to No. 2 on All-Time Music Biopic List
Don't stop the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody now — it's having such a good time at the box office. In its third weekend in theaters the Queen film brought in another $15 million stateside, making it the second biggest music biopic in U.S. history.
The latest box office returns find Bohemian Rhapsody holding strong at No. 3 for the week, and it's now brought in a supersonic total of more than $127 million in America since its debut. That places this shooting star right behind 2015's N.W.A. biopic Straight Outta Compton, which took in more than $161 million. Walk the Line, the 2005 Johnny Cash biopic, now falls to third place.
In global measures, the news is even better. To date, Bohemian Rhapsody has brought in over $265 million overseas, bringing its current worldwide total to $384 million. Straight Outta Compton "only" made $40 million overseas, for a worldwide total of $201 million.
The film has also brought the music of Queen back into the spotlight. The title song, first released in 1975 on the band's fourth record, A Night At the Opera, re-entered the Billboard Top 100 — and the track has now hit the charts in three separate decades.
The soundtrack for Bohemian Rhapsody has also done well, giving Queen its best album sales since 1980's The Game.
That's all pretty impressive, especially for a film that languished for years as filmmakers tried to make their way through a variety of production hurdles, including the firing of director Bryan Singer.
“We always knew the film was going to get finished,” said Gwilym Lee, who plays Brian May in the film. “Because everyone was so invested in it. Everyone was very, very passionate about this film – cast and crew. So even on the toughest days, we all looked at each other and we knew we’d get each other through."