Worldwide box office January 5-7
| Rank | Film (distributor) | 3-day (world) | Cume (world) | 3-day (int’l) | Cume (int’l) | Territories |
| 1. | Wonka (Warner Bros) | $43.4m | $465.9m | $28.9m | $301.2m | 78 |
| 2. | Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom (Warner Bros) | $40.9m | $334.8m | $30.3m | $234.8m | 78 |
| 3. | Migration (Universal) | $25.7m | $150.7m | $15.5m | $72.9m | 74 |
| 4. | Johnny Keep Walking! (various) | $22.5m | $77.2m | $22.5m | $77.2m | 1 |
| 5. | Wish (Disney) | $19.8m | $209.5m | $19m | $146.9m | 52 |
| 6. | Night Swim (Universal) | $17.7m | $17.7m | $5.7m | $5.7m | 37 |
| 7. | Anyone But You (Sony) | $14.9m | $58.4m | $5.4m | $14.7m | 20 |
| 8. | The Goldfinger (various) | $10.5m | $51.4m | $10.4m | $50.6m | 8 |
| 9. | The Boy And The Heron (various) | $8.7m | $164.6m | $7m | $125m | 35 |
| 10. | The Boys In The Boat (Warner Bros) | $6.4m | $34.3m | $0.4m | $0.4m | 3 |
Credit: Comscore. All figures are estimates.
‘Wonka’ soars to $466m total
Warner Bros’ Wonka is now less than $10m behind the lifetime global total of Tim Burton’s Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, and will very soon become the top-grossing film featuring Roald Dahl’s chocolatier. While this comparison is not adjusted for inflation, Wonka has succeeded as an original story (created by director Paul King, and co-written by him with Simon Farnaby), whereas Burton’s 2005 film was adapted from a treasured classic.
Wonka added an estimated $14.4m for North America at the weekend (down 36%) and $28.9m for international (sliding 27%). Respective totals are $164.7m and $301.2m, combining to deliver $465.9m worldwide. Tim Burton’s Charlie And The Chocolate Factory reached $475.0m.
UK/Ireland remains the runaway leader for Wonka in international markets, with $67.2m so far – nearly triple second-placed Mexico ($22.8m). Next come France ($22.7m), Germany ($18.6m), Australia ($18.1m) and Italy ($14.2m).
Willy Wonka creator Dahl holds a special place in the affection of UK/Ireland cinemagoers, and Wonka is a UK film with a significantly British supporting cast.
The film has opened in every major territory except South Korea which welcomes it on January 31.
Previously King directed Paddington and Paddington 2 – grossing $282.4m and $227.3m respectively worldwide in 2014 and 2017.
Among previous films featuring Dahl characters, Steven Spielberg’s The BFG grossed $195.2m worldwide in 2016.
‘Night Swim’ earns $18m in US and early international markets
Exactly a year ago, Universal Pictures/Blumhouse’s M3gan was riding high at the global box office, with debut weekend box office above $40m, and sitting in second place in the chart behind holdover success Avatar: The Way Of Water.
But lightning does not appear to have struck twice with the release of Universal/Blumhouse’s Night Swim, which has opened with a less-spectacular estimated $17.7m – made up of $12.0m in North America and $5.7m for 36 early international markets.
Mexico leads the international pack with an estimated $1.1m, ahead of UK/Ireland (760,000) and France ($680,000).
Early or mid-January is a popular slot for a genre film – offering an alternative to family titles still in the market from the holidays and prestige fare released to coincide with the film awards season. (Paramount released Scream in mid-January 2022.)
Sony romantic comedy ‘Anyone But You’ posts strong hold – nears $60m
Sony’s romantic comedy Anyone But You is showing early signs of connecting with audiences, rising 8.5% at the North American box office at the weekend despite not expanding the theatre count – and the only film in the top 10 to show an uptick. For international, holdover markets rose 19%.
The film – starring Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney – grossed an estimated $9.5m in North America and $5.4m in 19 international markets, and rose from ninth to seventh place in the worldwide box office chart. Total since December 22 release is $58.4m.
Australia, where Anyone But You is largely set, leads international markets with $6.5m from two weeks of play, ahead of UK/Ireland with $4.3m from the same period. Both territories showed box office rises if previews are excluded from the opening numbers.
Upcoming key markets are Germany, Mexico, Spain, France, Mexico and Italy (all opening between January 18 and 25).
Once a reliably popular staple in cinemas, the romantic comedy has withered in recent years, with US studios seemingly losing faith in the genre as a big-screen proposition. If Anyone But You continues its strong box office run, studios will likely be scouring their development slates for further opportunities.
Illumination animation ‘Migration’ rises up chart, hits $150m worldwide
The past seven days have seen Universal’s release of Illumination animation Migration add another $50m to its global tally, leaping from a $100.8m total to $150.7m.
The film expanded at the weekend from 68 to 73 international markets, opening in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Poland. Estimated weekend takings of $25.7m see the film rise from fourth to third place in the global box office chart.
Brazil and Poland both opened with an estimated $1.6m including previews. The film dropped 40% in North America and a slim 18% in international holdover markets. Totals are respectively $72.9m and $77.8m.
In cumulative, Germany leads international markets with $11.6m, ahead of France ($9.2m), Mexico ($6.7m) and Australia ($5.1m).
Future key markets for Migration are South Korea (January 10), UK/Ireland (February 2) and Japan (March 15).
Also for Universal, awards contender The Holdovers is continuing its international rollout, adding Spain, Sweden and Finland to join France, Belgium and French-speaking Switzerland. International total is $2.2m so far, which adds to $18.5m for North America. Brazil and Australia open the film later this week, with UK/Ireland, Mexico and Italy all to follow a week later.
Disney’s ‘Wish’ breaks through $200m barrier
Like Wonka, Migration and Anyone But You, Disney animation Wish also rose up the global box office chart for the weekend, moving up from eighth to fifth place. The film is mostly played out in North America, adding an estimated $760,000 there at the weekend, but has plenty of gas in the tank in international markets, which posted an estimated $19.0m, down only 26% in holdover territories. The film opened in South Korea with an estimated $4.6m and in Brazil with $1.7m.
In cumulative, Wish has reached $62.6m in North America and $146.9m for international, combining for $209.5m worldwide.
Among international markets, France leads with $19.1m, ahead of Japan ($18.5m), Germany ($14.9m) and UK/Ireland ($14.4m).
Wish is chasing the $256.8m achieved globally by 2021 Disney animation Encanto: $96.1m in North America and $160.7m for international.
‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour’ sets global record – overtaking Michael Jackson
Nearly three months after release, AMC Theaters’ Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour has overtaken Michael Jackson: This Is It at the global box office to become the highest-grossing concert film and documentary of all time.
Total for the Swift film is now $261.6m – which compares with $261.2m for 2009’s This Is It. These figures are not adjusted for inflation.
The Eras Tour opened in China on December 31, and has now reached $8.7m there, helping push the film past This Is It.
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