Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. continues to beat Warner Bros. and Warner Bros. over the New Year's weekend, with “Wonka” now surpassing “The Color Purple” and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.” With this trifecta, the studio secured the top three spots at the domestic box office throughout the holiday season.
The musical, starring Timothée Chalamet, grossed another $8.6 million up 32% on Friday from a week ago. Paul King's film has become a holiday box office favorite, surpassing $100 million domestically earlier this week. With $119 million in sales to date, the film continues to show strength and will reach $300 million worldwide before the calendar change.
Although it slipped to second place with $6.75 million on Friday, Warner Bros.'s “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” fell 51% since its opening day last week. The latest and final entry in the current continuity of DC Comics adaptations struggled to reach theaters, only reaching $65 million in the first week of release. The first “Aquaman,” which hit theaters in 2018, surpassed that number in its opening weekend alone. Poor reviews and superhero fatigue have plagued “Lost Kingdom,” which most likely won't even reach half of its predecessor's $335 million domestic total, let alone justify a $205 million production budget.
Illumination and Universal's “Migration” is a close third, holding its own with $6.7 on Friday after a muted $12 million debut last weekend. “Migration” has been disappointing so far, but its 17% increase from last Friday remains encouraging, especially for an original animated film with a production budget of just $70 million.
“The Color Purple” will likely settle in fourth place after its impressive opening on Christmas Day. The historical musical earned $4.1 million on Friday, boosting its domestic tally $36.4 million. The film is expected to bring in another $20 million or so through the four-day holiday weekend before hopefully doing well in January, when awards season is in full swing.
“Anyone but You,” the Sony starrer starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell, is looking to round out the top five on Friday with $3.3 million. The romantic comedy saw an uptick in business every day of the week. Over the course of the new year, the company is expected to gross more than $26 million – not exactly an eye-popping number, but on track to justify its $25 million production budget.