“Wonka” grossed $39 million at the weekend box office in U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday. A good start for the musical with Timothée Chalamet and Willy Wonka in the leading roles, which underlines the attractiveness of the young star.
In recent years, musicals have been so hard to sell in theaters that Warner Bros. downplayed the song-and-dance elements of “Wonka” in trailers. Instead, the studio highlighted Chalamet, the 27-year-old actor who scored his second No. 1 hit with “Wonka” after 2021's “Dune.” The previous film opened at $41 million.
While Dune was a sprawling, star-studded sci-fi adventure, Wonka relies heavily on Chalamet's charisma.
“Wonka,” which cost about $125 million to produce and opened in 4,203 locations, was also the first major Hollywood release after the end of the SAG-AFTRA actors' strike. A few days after the strike ended, Chalamet hosted “Saturday Night Live.” In his opening monologue to “Pure Imagination,” he sang about “coming back to that magical world where actors can promote their projects.”
“It shows the power of a star and also the power of a star setting out to work on a film. Having him out there after the strikes were over was a victory for him and a victory for the film,” said Jeffrey Goldstein, Warner Bros. distribution chief
Goldstein hopes “Wonka” will be a top choice for families during the holidays. The main competition for children will be the animated film “Migration” from Universal Pictures.
“Wonka,” directed by Paul King of “Paddington” and “Paddington 2” fame, is a prequel to 1971's “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” in which Chalamet plays a young Wonka trying to close a candy shop Open The cast includes Hugh Grant, Olivia Colman and Keegan-Michael Key.
The last time Warner Bros. revived Roald Dahl's classic was in 2005 with “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp. The film opened with $56.2 million and grossed $475 million worldwide.
To achieve these numbers, “Wonka” needs a good photo shoot during the lucrative Christmas season. This is supported by the good reviews (84% “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes) and the positive response from audiences (an “A-” on CinemaScore).
Chalamet also appeals to younger viewers. Viewers under 25 made up 36% of the audience, which was split equally between 51% women and 49% men. “Wonka” sold a total of $53.6 million in tickets overseas.
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“Chalamet is a true movie star who has developed his craft and reputation over many years. Everyone is looking for the next big movie star. Are they the old school main characters? Chalamet certainly is,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore.
It's the first of three high-profile holiday releases for Warner Bros., followed by “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” on Dec. 22 and another musical, “The Color Purple,” on Dec. 25.
The only other theatrical release was “Christmas with the Chosen: Holy Night” from Christian distributor Angel Studios. The film opened with $2.9 million in 2,094 theaters.
“The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” returned to second place this week with $5.8 million in its fifth week of release. Lionsgate's “Hunger Games” prequel, which has already grossed $145.2 million domestically and more than $300 million worldwide, remained strong week after week.
Last week's top-grossing film, Hayao Miyazaki's “The Boy and the Heron,” fell to third place with $5.1 million in its second week of release. The latest film from the 82-year-old master of Japanese anime has already broken records for Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli and its North American distributor GKids.
Most of the 10 most-watched films in theaters remained in theaters, while the weekend's other most notable activity was that of a group of awards contenders trying to make a name for themselves after Monday's Gold Globe nominations.
Yorgos Lanthimos' “Poor Little People,” a surreal Frankenstein-like fairy tale starring Emma Stone, opened in 82 theaters and grossed $1.3 million for Searchlight Pictures. The film, which will continue to expand in the coming weeks, is nominated for seven Globes of Gold, including best comedy or musical.
Cord Jefferson's “American Fiction,” starring Jeffrey Wright as a sardonic novelist, opened in seven theaters in three cities, averaging $32,411. MGM's “American Fiction,” nominated for two Globes, expands to 40 theaters next week. In September it won the audience award at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Jonathan Glazer's “The Zone of Interest,” a chilling Holocaust drama about a Nazi commander and his family living near Auschwitz, opened in four theaters with an average per-screen price of $31,198. Nominated for three Globes, it will be released in limited theaters before hitting theaters in January.
According to Comscore, tickets are expected to go on sale Friday through Sunday in theaters in the U.S. and Canada. The final national figures will be published on Monday. So far these are:
1. “Wonka,” $39 million.
2. “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,” $5.8 million.
3. “The Boy and the Heron,” $5.2 million.
4. “Godzilla Minus One,” $4.9 million.
5. “Trolls Band Together,” $4 million.
6. “Wish,” $3.2 million.
7. “Christmas with the Chosen: Christmas Eve,” $2.9 million.
8. “Napoleon,” $2.2 million.
9. “Renaissance: A Beyoncé Movie,” $2 million.
10. “Poor Things,” $1.3 million.