Wonka

Source: Warner Bros

‘Wonka’

Worldwide box office Dec 8-10

Rank Film (distributor) 3-day (world)  Cume (world) 3-day (int’l)  Cume (int’l)  Territories
 1. Wonka (Warner Bros) 
 $43.2m $43.2m $43.2m $43.2m 37
 2. The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes (Lionsgate) 
 $20.4m $279m $11m $143.3m 88
 3. Napolean (Sony) $20.3m $170.8m $16.1m $117.7m 65
 4. Animal (various)  $18.4m $84.6m $16.1m $73m  35
 5. Wish (Disney)  $17.4m $105.5m  $12.1m $56.1m 38
 6. The Boy And The Heron (various) $15.3m $114.2m  $2.5m $101.4m 22
 7. 12:12 The Day (Seoul Spring) (various) $12.6m $47m $12.6m $46.4m 4
 8.  The Invisible Guest (various) $12.5m  $12.7m  $12.5m $12.7m 1
 9. Godzilla Minus One (various) $9m $52.3m $629,000 $27m 18
 10. Trolls Band Together (Universal) $8.9m  $173.8m $2.7m  $90.7m 74

Credit: Comscore. All figures are estimates.

‘Wonka’ leads box office in 32 of 37 first-wave territories. 

Warner Bros’ Wonka looks set to take a big bite out of the family market this Christmas, based on its first weekend at 37 international markets.

Directed by Paul King (the filmmaker behind both Paddington films), and produced by David Heyman (Harry Potter, Paddington, Barbie), prequel-story Wonka grossed an estimated $43.2m from the initial wave of 37 territories, topping the local box office in 32 of them.

North America and a further 40 international markets will open this coming weekend – when we will have a true picture of the likely impact of the film globally.

In like-for-like markets, and using today’s exchange rates, Wonka is tracking 95% ahead of Paddington at the same stage of release, and 77% ahead of Mary Poppins Returns. Paddington delivered a lifetime global box office of $282.4m, while Mary Poppins Returns did better with $349.5m.

It’s early days, but if the first weekend at early-release markets is an indication of how Wonka will succeed globally and over the course of its run, Warner Bros’ film would be looking at a total north of $500m.

UK/Ireland led the charge for Wonka at the weekend, with an estimated $11.1m, commanding a 73% market share among the top five films. Next comes Mexico with an estimated $5.2m, and nearly 70% share of the top five films.

Wonka likewise topped the box office in Spain ($4.4m estimate) and Germany ($3.6m) – both with a 34% share of the top five films. Next come China (the top US film with a $3.2m opening) and Japan ($2.8m, topping the box office).

The global appeal of Wonka is reflected in the film’s 63% market share in Latin America, with big increases on Paddington (+232%) and Mary Poppins Returns (+145%) at the same stage of release.

Timothée Chalamet stars as aspiring chocolatier Willy Wonka, in a wholly invented prequel story co-written by King with Paddington 2 co-writer Simon Farnaby.

Mel Stuart’s 1971 film Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, starring Gene Wilder, predates comprehensive global box office reporting. Tim Burton’s Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, starring Johnny Depp, grossed $475.0m worldwide in 2005. Both these earlier films were adapted from Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel Charlie And The Chocolate Factory.

Illumination’s ‘Migration’ begins with $6.5m

Universal Pictures International began the release of new Illumination animation Migration at the weekend, grossing an estimated $6.5m from 18 early-release markets. The film is receiving a staggered global release – not until next February in UK/Ireland, for example.

France opened with an estimated $2m including previews, just below last year’s Puss In Boots: The Last Wish. In Italy, Migration began with an estimated $1.8m, level with Puss In Boots: The Last Wish.

DreamWorks Animation’s Puss In Boots: The Last Wish ended its run with lifetime box office of $481m, which presents an ambitious target for original-IP story Migration.

Thanks to the relatively modest initial rollout, Migration failed to make Comscore’s worldwide top 10 chart for the weekend period (see above). Instead, look for the film to appear in the chart later this month as its global footprint expands.

Produced by Chris Meledrandi, Migration is directed by France’s Benjamin Renner (Ernest & Celestine) from an original screenplay by Mike White (TV’s The White Lotus). The film tells the story of a family of New England mallards who seek to bring excitement to their lives by joining a migration of birds to Jamaica for the winter – encountering jeopardy when they find themselves in alien landscapes including New York City.

Next key market to welcome Migration is Mexico (December 14), followed by North America, Germany, Spain and Australia later this month. Brazil, South Korea, UK/Ireland and Japan all release the film in 2024.

Illumination’s most recent previous feature is The Super Mario Bros. Movie – based on powerful existing IP, and grossing $1.36bn worldwide.

‘Hunger Games’ prequel rises back up worldwide chart

A relatively mild decline at the box office for Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes saw the film move back up from third to second place in the worldwide weekend chart.

In North America, fourth-weekend estimated takings of $9.4m represents a 34% drop from the previous session. For international, an estimated $11.0m means a 26% drop.

Totals after four weekends of play are $135.7m in North America, $143.3m for international, and $279.0m globally.

With a production budget reported at $100m, The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes does not need to reach the box office heights of the original Hunger Games film quartet, which averaged $744m at the global box office.

Spanish thriller remake ‘The Invisible Guest’ tops China box office

While both Wonka and Wish failed to make the box office top five in China, the market was led by local films, and crime thriller The Invisible Guest topped the chart with $12.7m.

Directed by Chen Zhuo, The Invisible Guest is a remake of the 2016 Spanish film of the same name (directed by Oriol Paulo), telling the story of a woman who must work with a police officer to clear her name after her lover is found dead in a locked room. The film was previously remade into versions in Italian (Il Testimone Invisible), Korean (Confession) and Indian languages Hindi (Badla), Telegu (Evaru), and Kannada (Yadha Yadha Hi).

Meanwhile, South Korean historical drama 12.12: The Day continues to hold at the top of the box office in its home market, adding another $12.6m (down just 12% from the previous session), with a total now at $46.9m.

The film is set against the backdrop of the December 12 1979 military coup (aka the 12.12 Military Insurrection), which followed the assassination of South Korea president Park Chung Hee in October 1979. 

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