Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another is by far his most ambitious and mainstream release. Made on a reported budget of $140 million, the narrative unfolds in various parts of the United States. The movie itself was shot in a plethora of locations across California and Texas, lending weight to its massive scope (via Travel and Leisure).
Below are all the locations where the filming occurred:
Although their commitment paid off, as the movie is being celebrated as one of PTA’s best, which is currently the frontrunner for the Awards season, it still has another massive hurdle to clear, the box office.
One Battle After Another is On Track to Deliver PTA’s Biggest Opening
Despite positioning himself as one of the most revered auteurs in the business, Paul Thomas Anderson isn’t exactly notable for being a massive box office draw. As for the American epic’s box office legs, which amassed $3M from previews, it’s on its way to becoming his biggest movie yet.
On the high end, the movie is projected to rake in $50 million from its opening weekend, $25 million domestically, and another $25 million internationally (via Deadline). This would put it in the same ballpark as Martin Scorsese‘s Killers of the Flower Moon, another prestige movie, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, which boasted $23.2 million in its domestic opening.
While it’s destined to become PTA’s biggest movie, as his most successful movie remains There Will Be Blood, whose total gross stands at $77M, the DiCaprio-led movie still has a big battle at the box office.
Box Office Remains an Important Factor for One Battle After Another
Movies like One Battle After Another and Killers of the Flower Moon continue to highlight that box office numbers don’t always equate to quality. And following WB’s impeccable run this year, both in terms of original stories and franchise entries, ideally, the pressure on the PTA movie should be minimal, especially since the movie is already dominating Oscar conversations.
However, Leonardo DiCaprio stressed that the box office remains a big factor (via Variety), as the movie brings something fresh to the table that regular moviegoers aren’t accustomed to watching.
I mean, Paul shot this movie in Vista Vision — cameras that have rarely been used since the early ‘60s. He wants people to have that immersive experience and make an action film that’s unexpected, tactile, realistic and something that is probably a lot different than what we’ve been saturated with. In that respect, box office is very important.
He’s not wrong, as the movie deserves to be experienced on the big screen. Moreover, given that the movie was uniquely crafted for the theatre experience, it only makes sense for fans to enjoy it as intended rather than settling down for the same old IP-driven shlock recycled for the nth time.
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One Battle After Another is currently running in theatres.
