“Color Purple” Outshines Box Office Predictions by Earning Second-Biggest Christmas Day Opening of All Time

"I’m so overjoyed today," star Fantasia Barrino wrote reacting to the box office news

The Color Purple is a holiday box office hit.

The new movie musical starring Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks and more surpassed expectations at the domestic box office, taking the No. 1 spot on Monday and accounting for the second-biggest Christmas Day opening of all time, multiple outlets reported.

According to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, the $18.1 million earned in North American theaters makes the Blitz Bazawule-directed musical the largest Christmas opening since 2009. The record ($24.6 million) remains that year’s Sherlock Holmes starring Robert Downey Jr.

Industry predictions thought The Color Purple would make an estimated $8 to $10 million on Christmas Day, Deadline reported earlier this month.

This rendition of The Color Purple — adapted from Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 novel and the Tony-winning musical that premiered on Broadway in 2005 — counts among its executive producers Oprah Winfrey, who starred in the Oscar-nominated 1985 film directed by Steven Spielberg.

Related: See the Actors Who've Played the Same Character in The Color Purple

On Tuesday, Winfrey posted a video on Instagram of her reacting to the “amazing start,” as she says, to the film’s box office performance.

“I’m overwhelmed with gratitude,” the star, 69, wrote in her caption. “Thank you so much for everyone that made @thecolorpurple a part of their holiday plans. Y’all made it the #1 movie in theatres on Christmas Day!”

She added, “I know how valuable spending time with your loved ones is, so for y’all to buy tickets, dress up in purple, and show up in droves is filling me up. As you go to the theaters, please tag me in your purple outfits cause I know y’all are understanding the assignment! Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Oprah Daily posted a video on Instagram of Winfrey and her friends and family, including Gayle King, celebrating the movie’s success by singing a song from it.

Related: Whoopi Goldberg's Surprise Cameo in New Color Purple 'Felt Like the Perfect Part,' Says Writer

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At the box office in second and third place, respectively, were DC Studios sequel Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom and the Timothée Chalamet musical Wonka, two other films from distributor Warner Bros.

The Color Purple opened alongside the George Clooney-directed The Boys in the Boat, which earned $5.7 million.

The Golden Globe-nominated Barrino, who leads the film as Celie, posted a video on Instagram of her attending the film’s premiere in Charlotte, North Carolina, with friends and fans.

“I’m so overjoyed today waking up to the news of @thecolorpurple being the largest Christmas Day movie release since 2009,” wrote the American Idol winner. “Let’s keep filling up the theaters 🙏🏾.”

Colman Domingo, who plays the sinister Mister in the film, posted on X celebrating its spot at the box office. “I got some chewing tobacco, a banjo, and more for ya,” he wrote. “Come to despise Mista and come to see what we have done to transform us all.”

The Color Purple also stars Halle Bailey, Phylicia Pearl Mpasi, Corey Hawkins, David Alan Grier, H.E.R., Ciara and Deon Cole. The movie is in theaters now.

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