Django sets new box office record in US
Django has now taken $129.1m, pulling ahead of Basterds' $120.54m lifetime total.
As Quentin Tarantino's violent blaxploitation western Django Unchained is released across Europe, Asia and South America this week, the latest box office figures from the US reveal that it has already overtaken Inglourious Basterds to become Tarantino's highest grossing film to date in North America.
After three weeks on release, Django has now taken $129.1m, pulling ahead of Basterds' $120.54m lifetime total.
However, Django has some way to go to surpass Basterds' non-US take of $200.91m as it is only beginning its global rollout. Both films, though, are still well behind Tarantino's 1994 hit Pulp Fiction in terms of popularity: figures adjusted for ticket price inflation show that Pulp Fiction would have scored $197.51m if released today.
Django's success comes despite a string of attacks from high-profile African Americans accusing Tarantino of a lack of sensitivity over slavery-related issues. Malcolm X director Spike Lee told Vibe that the film was "disrespectful to my ancestors" and tweeted "American Slavery Was Not A Sergio Leone Spaghetti Western. It Was A Holocaust. My Ancestors Are Slaves. Stolen From Africa. I Will Honor them".
