'Wonka' nabs final No. 1 of 2023, 'The Color Purple' gets strong start at box office

NEW YORK − Hollywood closed out an up and down 2023 with "Wonka" regaining No. 1 at the box office, strong sales for "The Color Purple" and an overall $9 billion in ticket sales that improved on 2022's grosses but fell about $2 billion shy of pre-pandemic norms.

This year, the New Year's weekend box office lacked a true blockbuster. (This time last year, "Avatar: The Way of Water" was inundating theaters.) Instead, a wide array of films – among them "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom," "The Boys in the Boat," "Migration," "Ferrari," "The Iron Claw" and "Anyone But You" – sought to break out over the year's most lucrative box-office corridor.

The top choice, though, remained "Wonka," the musical starring Timothée Chalamet as a young Willy Wonka. In its third weekend, the film collected an estimated $24 million Friday through Sunday and $31.8 million factoring in the Monday holiday, for a domestic total of $142.5 million.

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That bested "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom," which, like previous DC superhero films, is struggling. James Wan's "Aquaman" sequel starring Jason Momoa took in $19.5 million in its second weekend to bring its two-week haul to a modest $84.7 million including New Year's Day estimates.

The original "Aquaman," which ultimately surpassed $1.1 billion worldwide, grossed $215.4 million for a similar period in 2018 – more than double that of the sequel. Internationally, "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" added $50.5 million.

"The Color Purple," Blitz Bazawule's adaptation of the 2005 stage musical from Alice Walker's novel, debuted on Monday and led all movies on Christmas with $18 million. Through the week, the film has grossed $50 million, including $13 million Friday through Sunday. That's a strong start for the crowd-pleaser starring Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson and Danielle Brooks. Audiences gave it an "A" at CinemaScore.

The roughly $100 million production, which boasts Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg and Quincy Jones as producers, should play well through awards season. It's nominated for several Golden Globes and expected to be in the Oscar mix.

"We saw this opportunity to go wide at Christmas, since there were so few movies, and we were confident the movie would be well received," says Jeffrey Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros. "The excitement of awards season could really help ignite a bigger box office."

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The last weekend of the year pushed the industry past $9 billion in box office for the year in U.S. and Canadian theaters for the first time since before the pandemic. Ticket sales were up 21% from 2022, according to data firm Comscore.

Still, it was a mark that seemed more easily within reach during the summer highs of "Barbenheimer," when both "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" were breaking box-office records.

The enormous success of those two films changed the trajectory of Hollywood's 2023, but so did the actors and writers strikes. Those forced the postponement of some top films (most notably "Dune: Part Two"), diminishing an already-patchwork fall lineup with few guaranteed ticket-sellers. One exception was the last-minute addition of "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour," which set a new record for concert films.

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This year, Hollywood needed Swift and every penny to reach $9 billion. It crossed that threshold Saturday, with one day to spare. That total, though, still doesn't come close to the $11 billion-plus years that preceded the pandemic.

The production delays caused by the strikes could have an even greater impact on 2024. Several top releases have already been postponed until at least the following year, including "Mission: Impossible" and "Spider-Verse" sequels. After a rocky year for Marvel, Hollywood will have to hope it can adapt to changing audience tastes – and that another "Barbie" is lurking somewhere.

"This final push of the year provided great insight into what audiences are looking for," says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. "It's movies big and small. It's different types of movies."

Though "Wonka" won out as the family movie choice for the holidays, "Migration" is attracting young audiences, too. The animated movie from the maker of "Minions" notched $17.2 million in its second weekend, and $59.4 million since opening.

"The Boys in the Boat," the George Clooney-directed sports drama, grossed $24.6 million since opening Dec. 25. The movie, about the U.S. men's crew in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, wasn't a smash with critics (58% "fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes) but audiences gave it an "A" on CinemaScore. "The Boys in the Boat," which cost about $40 million to make, could hold well in coming weeks.

Though romantic comedies have largely migrated to streaming platforms, "Anyone But You" is proving the genre can still work in theaters. The film, starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell, collected $9 million in its second weekend for $27.6 million total through Monday.

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The wrestling drama "The Iron Claw" is also performing well. The film, starring Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White, has grossed $18 million since Dec. 22. The film dramatizes the tragic story of the Von Erich family.

Michael Mann's "Ferrari" took in $10.9 million since launching Monday, including $4.1 million for the weekend. The film, starring Adam Driver as Enzo Ferrari, has been celebrated by critics, but it's nowhere near what a movie that cost close to $100 million to make needs to turn a profit.

Final figures are expected Tuesday.