With $23 million earned over the weekend from 3,628 North American theatres, Martin Scorsese's star-studded crime epic Killers of the Flower Moon made a strong box office start. For a total worldwide revenue of $44 million, the movie also earned $21 million from 63 foreign markets.

But the first place still belonged to Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour took in an estimated $31 million over the weekend from 3,855 locations, according to AMC Theaters. While the film opened to $92.8 million, sales dropped a steep 67 per cent in the second week, but The Eras Tour has still proved to be a movie event unlike any other. Within days, it became the highest-grossing concert film ever in North America, not accounting for inflation. Globally, the film has taken $164.8m in two weeks.

Even though it finished in second place, Scorsese's start is unquestionably the greatest since 2010's Shutter Island ($41 million debut), and it's the third-biggest of his career after 2006's The Departed ($26.9 million premiere).

Killers of the Flower Moon, which has a more than three-hour-long runtime and was made at a cost of at least $200 million, boasts a star ensemble including Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone, among others.

From a screenplay penned by Eric Roth and Scorsese, the film is based on David Grann’s bestselling book of the same name. Killers of the Flower Moon is set in 1920s Oklahoma and depicts the serial murder of members of the oil-wealthy Osage Nation, a string of brutal crimes that came to be known as the Reign of Terror.

Killers of The Flower Moon will premiere in theatres in India on October 27.