Elton remains staunchly proud of his film, produced by his husband David Furnish and directed by Dexter Fletcher. Even many Queen fans have criticised the Queen and Freddie Mercury movie for rearranging timelines and manipulating certain moments in the band’s history. Some also accused the film of glossing over the more troubling parts of Freddie’s life. Elton, who knew Freddie well, added his strong opinion.

US industry bible Variety asked Elton what he really thought of the two films: “Ours tells the truth — even though it’s a fantasy… My life can’t be sugarcoated, and I didn’t want it to be.”

Queen stars Brian May and Roger Taylor had answered criticisms of their film by explaining their intention was to make a family-friendly film that would celebrate their bandmate and friend, capturing the spirit of his life rather than every little detail.

But Elton admitted he struggled to watch some painful moments in the film.

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Elton added: “This is how bleak it was, I’d stay up, I’d smoke joints, I’d drink a bottle of Johnnie Walker and then I’d stay up for three days.”

However, he still had praise for Bohemian Rhapsody: “It was a film for everyone, and it worked brilliantly.

“It brought the great music of Freddie Mercury to a whole bunch of people who would have never heard of him. I’m thrilled for the guys [in Queen].”

Bohemian Rhapsody took $903.6million at the worldwide box office, while Rocketman grossed $195million.