411 Box Office Report: Wonka Opens Strong To Take #1 Spot

Wonka sailed its way to the top of the box office this weekend, slightly overperforming to claim the #1 spot. The Paul King-directed Willy Wonka prequel opened with $39 million to easily outpace the competition. The opening take is a bit above the $35 million start that was expected, giving the film the best weekend take since The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes started with $44.6 million in mid-November. It is also one of the better openings for a musical in recent memory, behind only The Little Mermaid’s $95.6 million start back in May.

The film is off to a very solid start thanks to a number of factors. It’s been a slower couple of weekends at the box office as is the norm for the weeks after Thanksgiving, which led audiences hungry for new fare. In addition, Warner Bros. marketed the film very well to sell the whimsy and fun to audiences. It also doesn’t hurt that it’s scoring high marks, with an 84% aggregated critic score at Rotten Tomatoes, a 91% audience score and an A- CinemaScore.

The word of mouth contributed to the film performing very well throughout the weekend as opposed to more front-loaded blockbusters. Warner Bros. is looking at an absolute hit here when you factor in the budget – a relatively modest (for a blockbuster) $125 million – and the overseas numbers. Wonka opened overseas last weekend and has already taken in $112.4 million internationally to put its numbers at $151.4 million worldwide. While it still has a while to go, the overseas numbers held strong from last weekend and the holiday season will allow it to have very good box office legs. At this point it’s not hard to expect that Wonka will top $125 million domestically and much more overseas.

Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is continuing to post strong week-to-week numbers, as it stayed even at #2 for the second week, its third weekend overall. The Hunger Games prequel film eased just 38% to bring in another $5.8 million. At this point the film is an unmitigated hit with $145.2 million domestically and $300.5 million worldwide against a budget of $100 million. The film looks like it should make it up to $165 million domestically, with future films looking ever more likely.

Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy And The Heron saw an expected heavy fall in its second weekend, dropping 60% to $5.2 million. While that drop is high for a Miyazaki film, it’s very normal for anime as a whole which has performed much more like the traditional frontloaded fandom-heavy genres in recent years. Studio Ghibli and GKIDS aren’t too worried here , as the film is already a massive hit with $23.1 million domestically and $106.1 million worldwide. No word on the budget for the film, which should finish off domestically with $around $35 million.

Godzilla Minus One was down 43% in its third weekend at the domestic box office to bring in $4.9 million. The Toho film is a hit with $34.3 million domestically and $64.1 million worldwide against a budget of less than $15 million. The film is now looking quite likely to pass $40 million and is the highest-grossing live-action Japanese film in terms of domestic numbers.

Trolls Band Together slipped 34% in its fifth weekend to take in $4 million. The animated film has now totaled $88.7 million domestically and $183.1 million worldwide, moving to a bit of profit against a $95 million production budget. The film is set to crack the $100 million stateside.

Disney’s Wish dropped another 40% in its fourth weekend. The animated film added $3.2 million to its mediocre tally and now has $54.3 million domestically and $126.2 million worldwide, a box office bomb against a $200 million budget. It should end its run with around $60 million domestically.

Fathom Events scored another hit with its faith-based performance film Christmas with the Chosen: Holy Night. The special event screening brought in $2.9 million for the weekend, bringing its total to $4.6 million after opening on Tuesday. It’s hard to predict what the film will do from here as Fathom doesn’t always keep them in theaters long, and they tend to drop heavily when they do. But it’s a strong performance that is likely profitable.

Napoleon dropped 46% in its fourth weekend to gross $2.2 million. The historical biopic has $57 million domestically and $188.4 million, not enough for profit against a $200 million budget. It is still on course for a $70 million final domestic gross.

Renaissance: A Film By Beyonce continued to fade quickly, down 60% in its third weekend to $2 million. The concert film now has $30.9 million domestically and $38.5 million worldwide, a far cry from Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour but still profitable against a $10 million budget. It will end with around $35 million.

Rising to #10 as it expanded slightly was Poor Things. The Oscar-buzzed fantasy comedy grossed $1.3 million from just 82 theaters, a fantastic performance. The film, an adaptation of the 1992 novel of the same name, has been earning raves and has a 92% RT aggregated score along with a 92% RT audience rating. These will continue to serve the film well as it expands through award season.

Thus far, the Emma Stone-starring movie has grossed $2.2 million. It’s hard to say how high it will go, but $15 million domestically seems likely if it continues to platform up and builds more and more goodwill, and it could go much higher if the award season pans out well. The budget is a bit prohibitive at $35 million, but international grosses should help.

Next weekend sees a crowded slate headed into the holiday weekend. Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom will almost certainly take #1 with $35 million for three days and as high as $50 million including Christmas. Universal and Illumination’s animated film Migration is looking at $20 million over three days and $25 million through four, while The Iron Claw is targeting $5 million or so through three days. Sony’s romcom Anyone But You should start in the low single digits.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. Wonka – $39 million ($39 million total, $151.4 million WW)
2. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes – $5.8 million ($145.2 million total, $300.5 million WW)
3. The Boy and the Heron – $5.2 million ($23.1 million total, $109.9 million WW)
4. Godzilla Minus One – $4.9 million ($34.3 million total, $64.1 million WW)
5. Trolls Band Together – $4 million ($88.7 million total, $183.1 million WW)
6. Wish – $3.2 million ($54.3 million total, $126.2 million WW)
7. Christmas with the Chosen: Holy Night – $2.9 million ($4.6 million total, $4.6 million WW)
8. Napoleon – $2.2 million ($57 million total, $188.4 million WW)
9. Renaissance: A Film By Beyonce – $2 million ($30.9 million total, $38.5 million WW)
10. Poor Things – $1.3 million ($2.2 million total, $2.2 million WW)