‘Wonka’ ends the year No. 1 at the box office
Hollywood closed out an up and down 2023 with “Wonka” regaining No. 1 at the box office, strong sales for “The Color Purple” and an overall $9 billion in ticket sales that improved on 2022’s grosses but fell about $2 billion shy of pre-pandemic norms.
The New Year’s weekend box office this year lacked a true blockbuster. (This time last year, “Avatar: The Way of Water” was inundating theaters.) Instead, a wide array of films – among them “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” “The Boys in the Boat,” “Migration,” “Ferrari,” “The Iron Claw” and “Anyone But You” — sought to break out over the year’s most lucrative box-office corridor.
The top choice, though, remained “Wonka,” Paul King’s musical starring Timothée Chalamet asa young Willy Wonka. In its third weekend, the Warner Bros. release collected an estimated $24 million Friday through Sunday and $31.8 million factoring in estimates for the Monday holiday. That brings the film’s domestic total to $142.5 million.
That bested Warner Bros.’ own “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” which, like previous DC superhero films, is struggling. James Wan’s “Aquaman” sequel starring Jason Momoa took in $19.5 million in its second weekend to bring its twoweek haul to a modest $84.7 million including New Year’s Day estimates.
The original “Aquaman,” which ultimately surpassed $1.1 billion worldwide, had grossed $215.4 million over a similar period in 2018 – more than double that of the sequel. Internationally, “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” added $50.5 million.
“The Color Purple,” Blitz Bazawule’s adaptation of the 2005 stage musical from Alice Walker’s novel, debuted on Christmas Day and led all movies that day with $18 million. Through the week, the Warner Bros. release has grossed $50 million, including $13 million Friday through Sunday.
That’s a strong start for the crowd-pleaser starring Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson and Danielle Brooks. Audiences gave it an “A” CinemaScore.
The roughly $100 million production, which boasts Oprah Winfrey, Steven
Spielberg and Quincy
Jones (all from the 1985 film) as producers, should play well through awards season. It’s nominated for several Golden Globes and expected to be in the Oscar mix.
Despite a blockbuster-less holiday frame, the last weekend of the year pushed the industry past $9 billion in box office for the year in U.S. and Canadian theaters for the first time since before the pandemic. Ticket sales on the year were up 21 percent from 2022, according to data firm Comscore.