F-bomb dropped 506 times

DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort. Photo / AP

The Wolf of Wall Street, a controversial tale of financial greed, orgies and drug-taking starring Leonardo DiCaprio, has set a record for profanity in a major Hollywood movie.

It uses the F-word 506 times during its 180-minute running time - that's once every 21 seconds.

The Martin Scorsese-directed film, a blockbuster hit in Kiwi cinemas this summer, eclipsed the previous record held by Spike Lee's 1999 movie Summer of Sam, which notched up 435 mentions, according to Variety, the entertainment industry trade publication.

Scorsese has never shied away from profanity, with his gangster movies Casino and Goodfellas respectively featuring 422 and 300 uses of the F-word.

The Wolf of Wall Street, based on the memoirs of Jordan Belfort, a stockbroker who was convicted of fraud, has been criticised since it was released in the US on Christmas Day.

Christina McDowell, whose father worked with Belfort, accused Scorsese and DiCaprio of "glorifying greed and psychopathic behaviour".

But DiCaprio told the Hollywood Reporter: "It is a cautionary tale. It is an indictment of this world."

The film has two Golden Globe nominations, for best picture (musical or comedy) and lead actor. It made US$34.3million in its first five days of release in America.