Wonka leads a weekend where nearly every holdover was either almost steady or up from Christmas weekend--except one.
All in all, it was a solid end to what turned out to be a solid year at the American cinema. Box office receipts hit $9 billion in total, led by Barbie, which brought in $636.2 million on its own. That said, grosses are still $2 billion off from the pre-pandemic and movies, and it is still hard for a more quiet film to break out of the pack without almost instantly be shuttled to streaming.
Naturally, a year of spectacle ends with a (literally) candy-colored family treat topping the box office. Wonka regained the throne in its third weekend, jumping nearly 25% from its Christmas week sales to $22.5 million, as family audiences flocked to see Timothée Chalamet play the younger, less cynical version of Willy Wonka. During the course of the week, the film became the 22nd of the year to pass $100 million, and now stands at $133.1 million. With no new family movies arriving until Kung Fu Panda on March 8 (though Pixar will be releasing Soul and Turning Red, neither of which got a proper theatrical release before, between now and then), Wonka could end up floating down a chocolate river to $200 million.
In further proof as to what a lousy year this has been for superhero movies, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which won Christmas weekend, actually fell 34%, a fairly dramatic decline given how virtually every other movie either broke even or rose from Christmas. Aquaman swam to $18.3 million, for a 10-day total of $76.5 million. This puts it well below the first one five years ago, which managed to take in $72.6 on its first five days alone, but it also easily outgrossed the second weekend of all three of the year's other big superhero bombs (Shazam! Fury of the Gods, The Flash, The Marvels) and should end up as the highest grosser of the quartet by a sizable amount. This won't make the film (which reportedly cost $200 million) profitable, but at least the DCU won't go out on a completely low note, either.
In addition to Wonka, family audiences turned out in much bigger numbers last week to see Migration. The animated comedy from Illumination hatched $17 million, a sizable 36% improvement from last weekend. The ten-day total stands at $54.1 million. Its second weekend is slightly higher than Puss in Boots: The Last Wish's last year and a bit below Sing 2's from two years ago, suggesting that it could be headed for a final gross of at least $150 million.
After exploding out of the gate on Christmas Day with a remarkable $18.2 million--the second biggest Christmas Day opening number ever--The Color Purple quickly fell back down to earth, coming in 4th in its first weekend with $11.7 million. So far, the musical remake of the beloved 1985, Steven Spielberg-directed drama--itself based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker (both are producers on this one) has taken in $44.1 million. Pundits at first thought $100 million was a given, but now, we'll see if the film is able to have the legs to make it to that number.
Surprisingly, little-regarded romcom Anyone But You had the biggest surge from last week in the Top 10, jumping an impressive 46% to $8.8 million. The film, starring Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney, has a ten-day total of $24.8 million. With standard issue romcoms in short supply in theaters over the coming weeks, it's not out of the question that Anyone But You could put together a nice little run for itself.
Opening in 6th, Christmas Day release The Boys in the Boat tells the story of the University of Washington crew team, which gets the opportunity to represent the US at the Berlin Olympic Games. Directed by George Clooney, the drama is doing decent business, taking in $8.4 million over the weekend and $22 million since Monday. A final total of between $40 and $50 million would be a good number for this one, particularly as it isn't attracting any awards attention.
In 7th, wresting biopic The Iron Claw, starring Zac Efron and Jeremey Allen White as two members of the tragic Von Erich clan, stayed mostly steady from last week, bringing in $4.7 million for a ten-day total of $16 million. A final number of about $25 million seems to be where this one is headed, particularly since, like Boys in the Boat, it's not likely to pick up much awards attention.
Christmas Day's final major opening was the biopic Ferrari, starring Adam Driver as Enzo Ferrari, founder of the eponymous sports car company. Despite co-starring Oscar winner Penelope Cruz and direction from Michael Mann, this didn't get the type of reviews a year-end biopic would be expected to get if it's going to be a serious Oscar contender. It took in $3.9 million over the weekend and $10.8 million since Monday, and is probably driving to a final number under $20 million.
The long-running The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes took in $2.9 million, to bring its total to $159.7 million. It will likely finish between $165 million and $175 million, not a bad haul for a prequel coming out 8 years after the last installment with none of the original cast. The Boy and the Heron earned $2.4 million, for a total of $35.9 million. This pushes it to fifth on the all time anime in North America grosses list, and the highest not based on a TV show. It looks to finish its run with about $45 million, which would put it at #3 on the list.
Farther down the list, Indian comedy Danki grossed $1.1 million for an 11-day gross of $7.2 million. It held up much better than the other Indian arrival from last weekend, Salaar, which fell almost 90% and has a ten-day total of $8.3 million.
As happens frequently on the first weekend of the year, there is only one new arrival, and as it has been most years since the mid aughts, it is a horror film. Night Swim is a new thriller about a family who discovers that their swimming pool is haunted. Kerry Condon, who apparently decided to cash in on her Oscar nomination last year by taking the biggest paycheck she could get, stars. New year horror movies can make quite a bit of money, like M3GAN opening to $30.4 million, but rarely win, as the last horror movie to beat all the holdovers on this weekend was Texas Chainsaw in 2013. That said, it probably won't take much this weekend to take the top spot. Could Night Swim backstroke its way to #1? Will Wonka still be sweet in its fourth weekend? Could Migration fly to the top in its third weekend? We'll find out next week.
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