Legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese stole the show at CinemaCon on Thursday with a first-look of his highly anticipated film, Killers of the Flower Moon.
The crowd erupted in applause as Scorsese took the stage, commenting on the epic scale of the film and the remarkable collaborators he worked with to bring the story to life.
The Western crime drama, produced by Apple Original Films and Paramount, features an all-star cast including Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, and Robert De Niro.
In a major move for Apple’s entry into the theatrical space, the film will receive an exclusive release in cinemas worldwide before opening in select theaters on October 6th, expanding nationwide on October 20th. The movie will later debut on Apple TV+.
Killers of the Flower Moon marks Scorsese’s reunion with both DiCaprio and De Niro, and the first time he has directed both of them in the same feature. The film, based on David Grann’s bestselling nonfiction book, centers on the FBI’s investigation into a series of murders of the Osage people in Oklahoma during the early 1920s, known as the Reign of Terror, after oil was discovered on tribal land.
Related: Martin Scorsese’s ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ Sets Release Date
The movie boasts Scorsese’s signature style, with violence, period costumes, and a few laughs thrown in for good measure. Jesse Plemons delivers some deadpan humor as the Washington D.C. detective, while DiCaprio plays Ernest Burkhart, the nephew of cattleman William Hale, portrayed by De Niro.
Gladstone plays Mollie Kyle, an Osage woman who inherited an oil fortune, and the cast also includes Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, Jillian Dion, and Tantoo Cardinal.
Scorsese expressed gratitude to the Osage Nation, who were involved in the production, and to Paramount and Apple Films, who he said are “real believers in cinema.” The film, with a running time of three hours and 26 minutes, will make its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next month.
Related: “Scorsese Confirms Runtime for ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’”
Paramount film boss Brian Robbins also heaped praise on Scorsese, citing his ability to transform true stories into cinematic classics, with films like Casino, Raging Bull, The Aviator, The Irishman, and Goodfellas. Killers of the Flower Moon looks set to continue this trend, and audiences will be eagerly anticipating its release in cinemas later this year.
