Wonka Continues Box Office Success Despite Christmas Competition

Box Office Triumphs and Challenges

Wonka has continued its box office hot streak despite failing to claim Christmas week. The movie musical, which stars Timoth\u00e9e Chalamet as a young Willy Wonka, opened two weekends before Christmas and became one of many titles vying for attention during the holiday season. That group also includes the newer releases Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, The Color Purple, Anyone But You, The Iron Claw, Ferrari, and Migration. In spite of losing the No. 1 spot to Aquaman 2 on Christmas weekend and then The Color Purple on Christmas Day, Wonka bounced back to the top the following day.

Timothee Chalamet Looking Shocked in Wonka

Per Deadline, Wonka has taken the No. 1 spot at the daily box office on Thursday for the third day in a row with a domestic take of $8 million. However, the official No. 1 title for Christmas week goes to Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which earned $58.3 million. Despite being in its second week in theaters, the Wonka box office didn't fall too far behind, as its gross for the week was a solid $53.1 million, putting it at No. 2 above the six other major wide-release contenders for the week.

Who Will Win The Box Office Battle In The Final Weekend Of 2023? Although there has been a wealth of holiday season movies, including the Wonka musical, the final weekend of 2023 is completely barren of new releases. The New Year's weekend does not tend to be a strong one for the box office, as opposed to the more family-oriented Christmas holiday, which accounts for the fact that the only new release will be the Netflix streaming exclusive Good Grief. However, this theatrical vacuum means that Wonka will have yet another shot at earning a No. 1 weekend.

The Road to No. 1

Good Grief was written by, directed by, and stars Schitt's Creek breakout Dan Levy. The Wonka movie has been consistently claiming No. 1 at the daily box office since the rush of new releases on the 4-day Christmas weekend. This could mean that it is set up to thrive in the coming weekend, easily climbing above Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The DC superhero movie hasn't entirely been losing steam, however, as it has managed to stay afloat with daily grosses above $5 million despite a near-franchise-worst opening weekend.

However, despite being a major superhero tentpole, Aquaman has slipped below the surface and fallen to No. 3 twice in a row already. Both times, it has fallen behind the animated movie Migration, which previously posted the worst-ever opening weekend for its studio, Illumination Entertainment. While both movies and the new musical The Color Purple will provide Wonka with no small amount of competition, the runway seems relatively clear for the Chalamet movie to return to No. 1.

Prospects for the Final Weekend

The Wonka movie has been consistently claiming No. 1 at the daily box office since the rush of new releases on the 4-day Christmas weekend. This could mean that it is set up to thrive in the coming weekend, easily climbing above Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. The DC superhero movie hasn't entirely been losing steam, however, as it has managed to stay afloat with daily grosses above $5 million despite a near-franchise-worst opening weekend.

However, despite being a major superhero tentpole, Aquaman has slipped below the surface and fallen to No. 3 twice in a row already. Both times, it has fallen behind the animated movie Migration, which previously posted the worst-ever opening weekend for its studio, Illumination Entertainment. While both movies and the new musical The Color Purple will provide Wonka with no small amount of competition, the runway seems relatively clear for the Chalamet movie to return to No. 1.