‘Wonka’ Maintains Reign At Box Office As 2024 Is Off To Slow Start

“Wonka” is slowly but steadily leading the box office. After ending 2023 on a sweet note by reclaiming No. 1 at the North American chart, Paul King’s musical fantasy film secures the crown for the third time in four weeks.

The latest adaptation of Roald Dahl’s 1964 novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” added an estimated $14.4 million, bringing its domestic gross to $164.6 million for a $465.8 million total worldwide.

The movie, made on $125 million budget, has turned profitable for Warner Bros. Pictures as it proved to be having box office staying power following a lackluster holiday season. Led by Timothee Chalamet in the cast, it was loved by critics and the audiences with an average rating of 7.3/10 on Rotten Tomatoes and an average grade of “A-” from moviegoers polled by CinemaScore.

” ‘Wonka’ is following in the tradition of a film like ‘The Greatest Showman’,” said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. ” ‘Wonka’ is a perfect crowd pleaser released at the perfect time and it’s going to ride that wave into January. It’s an opportune time for it to be in the marketplace.”

“Wonka” doesn’t budge despite the arrival of the only wide release this year, “Night Swim”. The horror film from producers Jason Blum and James Wan lands at No. 2 with an estimated $12 million against its $15 million budget.

The modest start didn’t come as a huge surprise since the movie did not receive much love from critics and the audience. The movie is rated 4.4/10 on Rotten Tomatoes and received a “C” grade from audiences surveyed by CinemaSore.

Universal Pictures, however, didn’t seem to be disappointed by the modest debut as Jim Orr, Universal’s head of domestic distribution, said, “Not only did it perform really well at the box office, but it’s going to make us look at every swimming pool with a little more trepidation.”

The rest of the top five still belong to holdovers, with “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” sinking to No. 3 with an estimated $10.6 million. “Migration” moves down one place to No. 4 with approximately $10.3 million, followed by “Anyone But You” which holds on to the fifth position with an estimated $9.5 million.

Overall, the first month of 2024 continues the tradition with a slow start. While the supply of movies was able to keep the two-week holiday box office up over 2022’s by 12%, 2024 is getting off to a slower start than last year, down around 16%.

“We don’t have ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’, which totally dominated the box office a year ago, or ‘M3GAN’, which made that a bigger weekend,” said Dergarabedian. “But it’s a bit early to call it in terms of how the year is going to turn out.”

Top 10 of North American Box Office (Jan. 05-07, 2024):

1. “Wonka” – $14.4 million
2. “Night Swim” – $12 million
3. “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” – $10.6 million
4. “Migration” – $10.3 million
5. “Anyone But You” – $9.5 million
6. “The Boys in the Boat” – $6 million
7. “The Color Purple” – $4.8 million
8. “The Iron Claw” – $3.9 million
9. “Ferrari” – $2.5 million
10. “Poor Things” – $2 million

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