'' Rocketman '' is a 2019 biographical musical film based on the life of musician Elton John . Directed by Dexter Fletcher and written by Lee Hall , it stars Taron Egerton as John , with Jamie Bell as Bernie Taupin , Richard Madden as John Reid , and Bryce Dallas Howard as Sheila Eileen . The film follows John in his early days as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music through his musical partnership with Taupin . The film is titled after John 's 1972 song " Rocket Man . " The film 's development initially began in 2001 with multiple studios including Walt Disney Pictures and Focus Features , directors David LaChapelle and Michael Gracey , and actor Tom Hardy involved . After Hardy and Gracey left the project following creative differences between Focus and John that halted an initial production start in 2014 , the project languished until Paramount Pictures took over as distributor in April 2018 , where Egerton and Fletcher signed on . Principal photography began in August 2018 and was completed later that year . John served as executive producer , while husband David Furnish produced the film through their Rocket Pictures , alongside Matthew Vaughn 's Marv Films . '' Rocketman '' premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on 16 May 2019 , and was theatrically released in the United Kingdom on 22 May 2019 and in the United States on 31 May 2019 . The film has grossed $ 185 million worldwide against its $ 40 million budget and received critical acclaim , with Egerton 's performance , the costume design and musical numbers receiving general praise . The film was the first major Hollywood production to include a gay male sex scene
Cannes Film Festival
2019 Cannes Film Festival
Rocketman (film)