Sandwiched in between “Iron Man 3” and “Star Trek: Into Darkness,” came last night “The Great Gatsby.” Counting $3 million from Thursday night, Baz Luhrmann’s extravaganza made just over $19 million in 24 hours. It finished in second place on Friday night, but came within a whisker of tying “Iron Man 3.” Of course, the IMAX and 3D raised the ticket prices for “Gatsby,” so basically it’s twice the amount it might have made had it been in 2D.
Now “Gatsby” has six more days basically to rake what it can in. On Wednesday, “Star Trek” lets loose. And “Star Trek” will be BIG. I mean, BIG. It’s going to bring in men of all ages, plus lots of women who are secret Trekkies. Plus there will be other audiences as each “Star Trek” actor has his own fan constituency.
But that doesn’t diminish the accomplishment of Luhrmann here. This is his biggest opening ever. It raises the profile of everyone involved, not the least of whom is co-exec producer and soundtrack guru Jay Z. There’s no doubt that some young audience members knew about the movie solely because Jay Z’s name was on it.
“Gatsby” opens Cannes on Wednesday the 15th with a lot of pageantry. And this reporter will get to see it a third time in less than 30 days. I’ll be the guy with the martini, trust me.
