<P> A few months after its United States release, The Sound of Music opened in 261 theaters overseas--the first American movie to be completely dubbed in a foreign language, both dialogue and music . The German, French, Italian, and Spanish versions were completely dubbed, the Japanese version had Japanese dialogue with English songs, and other versions were released with foreign subtitles . The film was a popular success in every country it opened, except the two countries where the story originated, Austria and Germany . In these countries, the film had to compete with the much - loved Die Trapp - Familie (1956), which provided the original inspiration for the Broadway musical, and its sequel Die Trapp - Familie in Amerika (1958)--both films still widely popular in German - speaking Europe and considered the authoritative von Trapp story . Austrians took exception to the liberties taken by the filmmakers with regard to the costumes, which did not reflect traditional style, and the replacement of traditional Austrian folk songs with Broadway show tunes . The film's Nazi theme was especially unpopular in Germany, where the Munich branch manager for 20th Century Fox approved the unauthorized cutting of the entire third act of the film following the wedding sequence--the scenes showing Salzburg following the Anschluss . Robert Wise and the studio intervened, the original film was restored, and the branch manager was fired . The Sound of Music has never been popular in Austria and Germany . </P> <P> The Sound of Music is one of the most commercially successful films of all time . Four weeks after its theatrical release, it became the number one box office movie in the United States, from revenue generated by twenty - five theaters, each screening only ten roadshow performances per week . It held the number one position for thirty of the next forty - three weeks, and ended up the highest - grossing film of 1965 . One contributing factor in the film's early commercial success was the repeat business of many filmgoers . In some cities in the United States, the number of tickets sold exceeded the total population . By January 1966, the film had earned $20 million in distributor rentals from just 140 roadshow engagements in the United States and Canada . Overseas, The Sound of Music broke previous box - office records in twenty - nine countries, including the United Kingdom, where the film earned £ 4 million in rentals and grossed £ 6 million--more than twice as much as any other film had ever taken in . By November 1966, The Sound of Music had become the highest - grossing film of all - time, surpassing Gone with the Wind, which held that distinction for twenty - four years . </P> <P> In November 1969, The Sound of Music completed its initial four - and - a-half year theatrical release run in the United States, having earned $68,313,000 in North American (United States and Canada) rentals and $44,168,000 in foreign rentals, for a worldwide total of $112,481,000 in gross returns . It was the first film to gross over $100 million . The film was re-released in 1973, and increased its North American rentals to $78.4 million . By the end of the 1970s, it was ranked seventh in all time North American rentals, having earned $79 million . The film's re-release in 1990 increased the total North American admissions to 142,415,400--the third highest number of tickets sold behind Gone with the Wind and Star Wars--and about 283.3 million admissions worldwide . The Sound of Music eventually earned a total domestic gross of $163,214,076, and a total worldwide gross of $286,214,076 . Adjusted for inflation, the film earned about $2.366 billion at 2014 prices--the fifth highest - grossing film of all time . </P> <P> The Sound of Music film, like the stage musical, presents a history of the von Trapp family that is not completely accurate . The filmmakers used artistic license to convey the essence and meaning of their story . Georg Ludwig von Trapp was indeed an anti-Nazi opposed to the Anschluss, and lived with his family in a villa in a district of Salzburg called Aigen . Their lifestyle depicted in the film, however, greatly exaggerated their standard of living . The actual family villa, located at Traunstraße 34, Aigen 5026, was large and comfortable but not nearly as grand as the mansion depicted in the film . The house was also not their ancestral home, as depicted in the film . The family had previously lived in homes in Zell Am See and Klosterneuburg after being forced to abandon their actual ancestral home in Pola following World War I. Georg moved the family to the Salzburg villa shortly after the death of his first wife in 1922 . In the film, Georg is referred to as "Baron", but his actual family title was "Ritter" (German for "knight"), a hereditary knighthood the equivalent of which in the United Kingdom is a baronetcy . Austrian nobility, moreover, was legally abolished in 1919 and the nobiliary particle von was proscribed after World War I, so he was legally "Georg Trapp". Both the title and the prepositional nobiliary particle von, however, continued to be widely used unofficially as a matter of courtesy . </P>

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