411 Box Office Report: Wonka Reigns For Third Week As Night Swim Claims #2

Wonka continued its dominance at the box office this weekend, notching its third #1 spot in four weekends. The Warner Bros. prequel led the frame with a $14.4 million take, down a solid 36% from last weekend’s numbers.

The film has been on an absolute roll at the box office since opening in mid-December and has now totaled $164.7 million domestically and $465.9 million worldwide. If it makes it over $500 million (which seems extremely likely), it will have been the first to do so since Barbie and Oppenheimer pulled it off in the late summer. Wonka obviously won’t hit the numbers either of those films churned out, but it’s sitting at a full-on hit status against a budget of $125 million and should end its domestic gross around $190 million or so, which would be good enough for the eighth-highest domestic total of 2023.

Coming in at #2 in its opening weekend was Night Swim. The Universal-distributed horror flick from Blumhouse and Atomic Monster laid claim to $12 million, below early estimates in the $20 million range but about where people predicted heading into the weekend. The opening is well under that of the last two first horror films of the year in 2023’s M3GAN ($30.4 million) and 2022’s Scream ($30 million).

In fairness, Night Swim never had a chance at those films’ numbers, nor did Universal expect it to do that well. The film is a more modest affair that didn’t catch fire in its marketing like M3GAN, nor did it have the built-in franchise love of Scream. Instead, we have a middling-but-acceptable result for a film that cost around $15 million.

Horror is popular in January as it provides a mainstream alternative to a box office heavy with films seeking Oscar contention, so releasing Night Swim in this frame was a wise move. It never did much to stand out in the marketing though, and there wasn’t enough buzz around it. Critic reviews didn’t help at a lousy 26% aggregated score on Rotten Tomatoes. But the more important factor for horror is the word of mouth, and that… also isn’t great. The film has a C CinemaScore, which is not great even for horror these days, and a rough 44% RT audience rating.

All that adds up to a film that is likely to slip down the charts fairly quickly, though it will still be profitable for the studios considering the low budget. The film added $5.7 million overseas which isn’t great, but it has plenty more territories to open with. It should end its run at around $30 million to $35 million domestically, which will be enough for it to be considered a success.

Aquaman & The Lost Kingdom was down 42% in its third weekend to bring in $10.6 million. The superhero sequel is on course the dubious honor of being the highest-grossing DCEU film of 2023 – which does not mean it’s a financial success. With $100 million domestically and $334.8 million worldwide, it is only $8.1 million behind The Flash domestically and has surpassed that film’s $266.5 million. It’s still a money loser against a $205 million budget and should close out around $120 million to $125 million stateside.

Migration is continuing its path to profit, with the Illumination and Universal release down 40% in its third weekend with $10.3 million. The animated family comedy has now brought in $77.8 million domestically and $150.7 million worldwide, putting it well within reach of hitting black against a
$72 million budget. Those international numbers are rising impressively and the film is looking likely to close out its US run at around $100 million, good enough for the studio to call it a win.

Anyone But You is making a strong case for the return of romcoms, as the film was actually UP by 9% I its third weekend to $9.5 million. The Glen Powell and Sidney Sweeney flick marks the second successful R-rated romantic comedy of 2023 behind No Hard Feelings. Its hold is proving to be much stronger than most expected, with $43.7 million domestically and $58.4 million against a $25 million budget. The film is now looking likely to top $65 million domestically and will be considered a moderate hit by Sony Pictures.

George Clooney’s The Boys In the Boat eased 28% in its second weekend, a very strong hold. The sports drama tallied up $6 million this weekend, its second, to bring its domestic total to $33.9 million. The film is still going to need to hit in international territories to make a profit against its $40 million budget, though. It should finish off with about $45 million in the US.

Warner Bros.’ The Color Purple slipped pretty heavily in its second weekend as it dropped 59% from last weekend’s frame. The musical readaptation of the classic novel grossed $4.8 million for the weekend and brought its total to $54.6 million, not a great run thus far considering it had a $90 million budget. The film still has some chances to extend its run, especially if it picks up some Oscar nods, but as it stands it should close out with around $70 million in the US so when it lands overseas, it will need to do well.

The Iron Claw continues to show off some strong legs as it was down just 3% in its third weekend to $4.5 million. The Von Erich family biopic now has $24.9 million against a $16 million budget and is likely to make a bit of profit for A24 with $35 million or perhaps more. It still has yet to start reporting overseas numbers.

Michael Mann’s Ferrari was down 36% in its second weekend which is a solid hold until you consider its low start. The biopic brought in $2.5 million to bring its totals to $16 million domestically and $22.6 million worldwide. Even out of context, that’s not impressive; when you consider the $95 million budget, it’s even worse. The film is likely to slip out of the top 10 next week and will finish at around $25 million or so in the US.

Poor Things found its way back into the top 10 by virtue of a strong hold, down 12% from last weekend. The fantastical sci-fi comedy brought in $2 million, bringing its totals to $14.2 million domestically and $15.2 million worldwide. While it does have a long way to go in order to make back its $35 million budget, it will have its chance as it should get a boost when the Oscar nominations come in. Depending on how Focus Features handles things, it could get as high as $30 million in the US and the foreign numbers could boost it into profit territory.

Next weekend will see the Mean Girls musical take over, with a $25 million to $30 million start expected over the four-day frame. Jason Statham’s The Beekeeper is looking at the low teens, while Biblical comedy The Book of Clarence should score in the high single digits.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Wonka – $14.4 million ($164.7 million total, $465.9 million WW)
2. Night Swim – $12 million ($12 million total, $17.7 million WW)
3. Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom – $10.6 million ($100 million total, $334.8 million WW)
4. Migration – $10.3 million ($77.8 million total, $150.7 million WW)
5. Anyone But You – $9.5 million ($43.7 million total, $58.4 million WW)
6. The Boys In the Boat – $6 million ($33.9 million total, $33.9 million WW)
7. The Color Purple – $4.8 million ($54.6 million total, $54.6 million WW)
8. The Iron Claw – $4.5 million ($24.9 million total, $24.9 million WW)
9. Ferrari – $2.5 million ($16 million total, $22.6 million WW)
10. Poor Things – $2 million ($14.2 million total, $15.2 million WW)