Warner Bros’ musical Wonka starring Timothée Chalamet got off to an encouraging start at the North American box office as it brought in an estimated $39m from 4,203 locations.
The Willy Wonka origins story directed by Paul King from the Paddington franchise and produced by David Heyman from the Harry Potter series earned $14.4m on Friday, $14m on Saturday and $10.6m on Sunday.
It finished leagues ahead of the number two film, Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes on $5.8m for a solid $145.2m running total after five weekends. The YA adventure prequel has crossed $300m worldwide.
Wonka’s three-day debut earned an A- CinemaScore, ranking highest among females under 18 and the under-25 bracket, while the general audience PostTrak score was 4.5 out of a maximum of five.
The stirring launch bodes well for the arrival on December 25 of Warner Bros’ other holiday season musical, The Color Purple and may provide fresh impetus for what remains a challenging genre.
It also sets up North American box office for what could be a rousing finale to the year.
Some observers are eyeing a potential $9bn finish for North American box office in 2023, which would eclipse the prior pandemic years while remaining some way off the $11.4bn of pre-Covid 2019. With several big ticket Hollywood titles still to come – The Color Purple, Warner Bros/DC’s Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom (December 22), and Universal/Illumination’s Migration (December 22) – there is a slim chance the aggregated box office could add the required $412m to score a coup and cross $9bn.
As of Friday, North American box office trailed 2019 by the same stage by 19.3% according to ComScore. That year is a preferred target for aspirational studios and box office observers, more so than 2022, which finished on $7.4bn, or 2021 ($4.5bn), or 2020 ($2.1bn) – all of which were blighted by the pandemic.
Wonka’s strong bow will have been aided in part by the availability of Chalamet to promote the film following the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike when the union prohibited members from promoting studio films, let along working on productions.
The young actor hosted SNL for his second time in November, days after the work stoppage ended. He participated in the late night talk show circuit – the meat and potatoes of film publicity in the US – as did co-star Hugh Grant, who plays Oompa-Loompa. Chalamet and Grant doubled up on The Tonight Show.
Last weekend’s North American box office champion, Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy And The Heron, fell 60.2% and two places to number three in its second session, adding $5.2m for $23.1m through GKids.
Another international tentpole produced outside the US which has made a splash at the North American box office, Toho International’s Godzilla Minus One, fell one place to number four in its third weekend, adding $4.9m for $34.3m. Universal’s Trolls Band Together rounded out the top five and stands at 88.7m after five sessions.
Disney animation Wish, which reportedly cost $200m, maintained its poor form and ranks sixth after four weekends on $52.3m. Ranking eighth after a three-place drop was Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé on $30.9m after three sessions via AMC Theatres Distribution.
Awards contenders march on
Searchlight Pictures’ awards contender Poor Things directed by Yorgos Lanthimos and starring Emma Stone vaulted eight places in its second session after expanding from nine to 82 locations and adding $1.3m for an early $2.2m. With awards groups announcing their selections and buzz building around the film’s Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) wins and Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards nominations, the feminist empowerment fable is likely to remain a potent force in the weeks ahead.
Amazon MGM Studios opened its awards hopeful American Fiction well in seven theatres in New York, Los Angeles, and Austin at number 18 on $227,000 for a per site average of $32,411. Cord Jefferson’s race satire and TIFF People’s Choice Award winner stars Jeffrey Wright, who is in the thick of awards season with Golden Globes and Critics Choice nominations, among others.
Jefferson and supporting actor Sterling K. Brown have also earned kudos from awards groups in recent weeks and the film will expand next weekend into approximately 40 theatres in 11 markets.
Jonathan Glazer’s UK international feature film Oscar submission The Zone Of Interest also arrived in North American theatres, placing 22nd on $124,791 in four sites through A24 for a $31,197 average. The Holocaust feature starring Christian Friedel and Sandra Huller is also a hot prospect and has generated awards season heat with the best picture win at LAFCA, and Golden Globes and Critics Choice nods.
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