Timothee Chalamet's latest film, Wonka, in which he plays Roald Dahl's beloved chocolate factory impresario, has received an encouraging reception.
Wonka debuted on Friday and earned $14.4 million in a single day, leading The Hollywood Reporter to predict a first weekend gross of $38 million.
As a sign of Timothee's idol status among young viewers, 33 percent of viewers were between 18 and 24 years old – and a whopping 60 percent were between 18 and 34 years old.
Meanwhile, 54 percent of the audience were female and 10 percent were underage teenagers, i.e. 13 to 17 years old.
The magazine noted that the Wonka numbers were a glimmer of hope for the genre at a time when Hollywood musicals are faltering.
Timothee Chalamet's latest film, Wonka, in which he plays Roald Dahl's beloved chocolate factory impresario, has received an encouraging reception
Wonka debuted on Friday and earned $14.4 million, leading The Hollywood Reporter to predict a first weekend gross of $38 million
Audience reactions to the film were so positive that they gave Wonka an A-CinemaScore and a 90% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Critics were a little less enthusiastic, but their reviews were so positive that Wonka received an 80% Tomatometer rating.
Roald Dahl created the character of Willy Wonka for his popular 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which has now been controversially re-edited to appeal to a keen readership.
His book has been adapted into films several times, first in the 1971 film “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” with an iconic role by Gene Wilder as the chocolatier.
Tim Burton then adapted the book in 2005, with Johnny Depp delivering an eerie Willy Wonka performance that was widely compared to Michael Jackson, who had been acquitted of charges of molesting a 13-year-old boy a month before the film's release .
A report from TMZ states that Timothee's film is still quite far behind Johnny's film in terms of box office revenue, which grossed about $20 million on its opening day and grossed about $50 million by the end of its first weekend.
Timothee's new film is set years before the events in Dahl's book and tells the story of how Willy Wonka came to start his chocolate factory.
While his new film is in theaters, Timothee awaits the release of his upcoming epic Dune: Part Two, directed by Denis Villeneuve.
The film was originally scheduled to hit theaters on October 20th this year, but due to various delays, it is now scheduled to hit theaters next March.
His book has been adapted into films several times, first in the 1971 film “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” with a popular role for Gene Wilder as the chocolatier.
Tim Burton then adapted the book in 2005, with Johnny Depp delivering an eerie Willy Wonka performance that was widely compared to Michael Jackson
Some postponements were made to work around other films' release dates, and the most recent delay was due to the Hollywood strikes.
Now that the strikes are over, the next Dune film is set to hit theaters on March 1st – and a new trailer was released this week to keep fans excited.
Timothee is also currently preparing to star in a biopic about Bob Dylan, which will focus on his hugely controversial decision to go electric in 1965.
In a recent interview with GQ, he revealed that he prepared for the biopic with the help of the team that trained Austin Butler for Elvis.
“I basically worked with his entire Elvis team for my Dylan prep,” the Lady Bird actor said. “There is a wonderful dialect trainer named Tim Monich. Singing teacher named Erich Vetro. Movement trainer named Polly Bennett.
Tipting his hat to Austin's performance as Elvis, he added: “I just saw how committed he was to everything – and I realized I had to do more.”
Austin reached new heights of stardom last year with his Oscar-nominated role in Baz Lurhmann's Elvis Presley biopic.
He then traveled to Europe to star with Timothee in Dune: Part Two – and left Timothee with a deep impression of his acting skills.