Controversial Priscilla movie rates higher than Elvis on Rotten Tomatoes

While Sofia Coppola’s Priscilla is proving to be a controversial movie, it seems to have beaten Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis in critics ratings on Rotten Tomatoes.

Elvis has been in the Hollywood limelight over the past few years, mainly due to the Austin Butler-starring biopic of the same name by Baz Luhrmann. However, some viewers of the movie believed aspects of his life probably weren’t examined well enough – including his relationship with his former wife, Priscilla.

This is what Sofia Coppola’s newest movie, Priscilla, intends to combat, by peering into the perspective of the late superstar’s ex-wife as their relationship began.

And despite receiving some ire from the Elvis Estate and his family members, the movie is beating the previous biopic on Rotten Tomatoes.

Priscilla beats Elvis on Rotten Tomatoes

Priscilla, despite being in cinemas for only a short while, has already gained on the Butler-led biopic. Coppola’s film has received an 84% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, while Elvis stays at 77%. Though Elvis of course holds the lead for box office draw so far, with a smash hit gross of $288 million worldwide. It also garnered eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Butler.

Though Priscilla reviews also point to star Cailee Spaeny for Oscar buzz, as her portrayal of Priscilla growing from a 14-year-old girl who later learns to walk away from Elvis’ controlling, borderline sinister behavior in the movie has already gained major praise.

However the film has also raised its fair share of controversy, as any film that points out a star’s major flaws does. In early 2023, just before she died (and couldn’t see the completed movie) Elvis and Priscilla’s daughter Lisa Marie Presley sent emails criticizing Coppola’s script. As per Variety, she called it “shockingly vengeful and contemptuous” for the portrayal of her father as “a predator and manipulative.”

“As his daughter, I don’t read this and see any of my father in this character. I don’t read this and see my mother’s perspective of my father. I read this and see your shockingly vengeful and contemptuous perspective and I don’t understand why? I will be forced to be in a position where I will have to openly say how I feel about the film and go against you, my mother and this film publicly,” she reportedly added.

In our 3-star review of the movie: “What’s most enjoyable and reassuring about Coppola’s guidance is how obviously rooted the film is in facts. Though this might be Priscilla’s truth instead of a universal truth, the overhanging sense of loneliness, naivety, and under-age innocence is so grounded that it can only stem from a real person’s memories. The Presley marriage has remained so high-profile that every stranger has their own opinion formed of it, and Priscilla will undoubtedly sway the minds of those who have been staunchly against her.”

Priscilla is now in cinemas. Check out more of our Priscilla coverage here, and more of our movies & TV content here.