‘Wonka’ Yummy With $39M Opening As Musicals Bounce Back At The Box Office – Sunday Update

Anthony D'Alessandro
·19 min read
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UPDATED, Sunday AM: Wonka had a very strong hold on Saturday with $14M, just -3% off from Friday/Thursday previews’ $14.4M resulting in an estimated $39M opening, which is slightly north of the $35.3M start that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse did back in the same mid-December slot in 2018. For family movies opening at this point in time, it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and there’s a lot of road left for Wonka especially with 21% K-12/76% colleges off tomorrow per Comscore, rising to 66%/93% by Friday and finally 100% out all next week.

Per box office analytics firm, EntTelligence, Wonka‘s opening weekend translates to 3M admissions or 49% of the entire marketplace’s foot traffic.

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Worldwide weekend for Wonka is bigger than expected at $92.6M including debuts in France, Belgium, Holland, Australia, NZ, Italy, Denmark, Sweden and Poland. The Paul King-directed movie’s running global total is north of $151M. The helmer’s top two titles currently are Paddington ($282M) and Paddington 2 ($228M).

For Timothee Chalamet, Wonka is his second biggest U.S./Canada opening as a leading man after Dune‘s $41M domestic debut.

Extolled Domestic Distribution Boss Jeff Goldstein this morning, “Warner Bros. Motion Picture Chairs Pam Abdy and Mike De Luca supported this movie with the extraordinary marketing from President Josh Goldstine and his team in a way that will delight audiences through the long Christmas holiday.”

Again, a great start for a live-action feature musical at the box office, that genre nearly put to bed post Covid by such bombs as West Side Story, Dear Evan Hansen and In the Heights. Talk about a rebound entirely for the genre: Warners risked it on not one, but two musicals this holiday season with The Color Purple opening on Christmas Day and hot buzz around its presales. It just takes a hit or two to revive interest in any genre that’s been deemed dead (in other words, there’s hope for more pirate movies).

Wonka was originally greenlit and championed by the former Courtenay Valenti administration at Warners, and the $125M pic was co-financed by Village Roadshow. The current admin at Warners has been passionate about the project, screening it early for press before Thanksgiving to get the word of mouth out.

Timothée Chalamet as host of 'SNL'
Timothée Chalamet as host of ‘SNL’

In addition, Wonka was arguably able to have a full-bodied marketing campaign in a way that many other well-intended movies in the fall, i.e. The Marvels, The Creator, The Exoricst could not. Chalamet landed on the cover of GQ for the third time last month, in addition to hosting Saturday Night Live for a second time in his career on Nov. 11. While the late-night show had a different contract from SAG-AFTRA enabling Chalamet to host, because the strike ended on Nov. 8, he was able to boom a parody of the song “Pure Imagination” from the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie. Also last month, the studio launched a Wonka-themed float during the Macy’s Day Thanksgiving Parade broadcast (biggest draw on record with 28.5M viewers). A 30-second spot ran after the float’s debut with a broadcast moment recap on social.

While Warners dropped early looks of Wonka over the last two CinemaCons, the studio fired up the movie’s profile back in July with the first trailer and teaser art by leveraging in-theater placement with Barbie. The trailer and pieces trended across 26 markets on Twitter and 12 markets on YouTube. The second trailer dropped in time for Taylor Swift: Eras Tour premiere back in mid-October; that result reaching a global audience across 66 international markets (37 languages). The materials were amplified across the entire suite of WB/WBD and Roald Dahl partner pages.

In the spirit of Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s mandate, Wonka was promoted across all tentacles of the conglom:

–There were sneak peeks of Wonka across TNT and TBS in days leading up to the film. On TCM, there was “A Salute to Grandfathers” and the original movie aired with Ben Mankiewicz hosting film promos.

–On Food Network, there was a Wonka-themed holiday baking championship on Nov. 27. Bakers were inspired to create “Unexpected Upside-Down Cakes” inspired by Willy Wonka himself. There was a minute’s sneak peek of the movie and a 30 second spot that aired during Nov. 19-26. @foodnetwork Social Reels video featured Wonka Chocolatier Gabriella Cugno showing how she brought one of the film chocolates to life (Dec. 15).

Pic’s actors Chalamet, Hugh Grant, and Calah Lane answered Rapid-fire food questions video to debate their favorite foods and sweet treats on @foodnetwork social (Dec. 16).

During the in-season tournament NBA semifinals on TNT, there was an on-air sneak peek of the film which led into a live in-studio segment where Ernie, Kenny, Shaq and Charles were treated to a super sweet NBA Cup – one filled with magical and delectable Wonka candies; however the only person who guessed how many candies were in the cup took home the prize (it was Chuck). That bit was boosted with a film promo and social @nba and @nbaontnt.

–NHL on TNT’s in-studio show on Dec. 13 touted film graphics on-set with a large display screen showcasing Willy Wonka dropping chocolates on-screen; host Liam McHugh teed up the trailer.

–Bleacher Report and House of Highlights supported with custom themed Instagram stories, B/R Gridiron and B/R Open Ice “TIL” timeline posts, in addition to Bleacher Report NFL Trivia with the pic’s star Keegan-Michael Key.

–Science Channel aired a “How It’s Made” chocolate-themed marathon with film promotion, along with Science and Discovery sweet holiday treat compilation across Discovery and Science social promoting the pic in theaters (Dec. 15).

–On Cartoon Network, there was an “Imagination” remix social post featuring content from their popular show Craig of the Creek (12/13)

–Wonka even got pushed via Harry Potter Wizard World digital and social handles as fans were invited to determine if the sweet confections were from Willy Wonka or the Wizarding World (Dec. 13).

There were also multi-million dollar promo partners for Wonka including:

–Ferrera Candy Company which introduced “Wonka Magic Hat Gummies” — top hat-shaped gummies in four fruity flavor combinations, including Strawberry Watermelon, Raspberry Grape, Orange Strawberry and Magic Berries.

–IHOP which served up a Wonka-themed menu including Wonka’s Perfectly Purple Pancakes, Hoverchoc Pancake Tacos, Daydream Berry Biscuit and so much more.

–XBox created a custom edible controller and chocolate-themed console for giveaways. Additional support included a playful in-store Wonka-themed build-out at Microsoft Experience Centers in New York, London, and Sydney. There was also a movie sweepstakes which awarded five lucky winners a free gaming console.

–Booking.com offered two pairs of candy-loving guests the chance to travel to a world of pure imagination by booking Wonka’s Sweet Suites in New York and Los Angeles. This was in collaboration with Booking.com partner Highgate Hotels for stays at city-chic hotels, i.e. Park Lane New York in New York City and Viceroy Santa Monica in Los Angeles. Each hotel was transformed into sugary wonderlands inspired by the pic. The team-up with Warners included a PR push on Booking.com that started on Nov. 27 across 30 markets globally and 3 billion impressions earned.

–Targeting female moviegoers, China Glaze and Salon Perfect created limited edition nail collection offering nail sets, lacquer, and charming decals to create a sparkling, salon-free nail art finish with a scattering of self-adhesive stickers in 3 miraculous motifs. Salon Perfect is available exclusively at Walmart and China Glaze across most retailers nationwide.

–Crumbl cookie chain unveiled Wonka’s Wildly Wonderful Red Velvety Cookie. They also held a sweepstakes tied to the movie.

Top theaters for Wonka were 1. Megaplex Jordan Commons Salt Lake City, 2. AMC Lincoln Square New York, 3. AMC Empire New York, 4. AMC Disney Springs Orlando, 5. AMC Grove Los Angeles, 6. AMC Century City Los Angeles, 7. AMC Burbank, 8. Harkins Estrella Falls Phoenix, 9. Megaplex Geneva Salt Lake City, and 10. SIFF Cinema Downtown Seattle.

Indicative of a family movie, EntTelligence says that 71% of moviegoers came between the hours of 1PM-8PM to watch Wonka. A little over a third of ticket sales came from PLFs and Imax. The latter rang up $3.3M for Wonka.

Top ten markets were Los Angeles, NYC, Dallas, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, Toronto,, Phoenix, and Seattle.

Sunday studio reported estimates:

1.) Wonka (WB) 4,203 theaters, Fri $14.4M, Sat $14M Sun $10.5M 3-day $39M/Wk 1

2.) Hunger Games: Songbirds & Snakes (LG) 3,291 (-374) theaters, Fri $1.7M (-37%) Sat $2.3M Sun $1.7M 3-day $5.8M (-38%), total $145.2M/Wk 5

3.) Boy and the Heron (GKIDs) 2,325 (+120) theaters, Fri $1.4M (-75%) Sat $2.1M Sun $1.6M 3-day $5.1M (-60%), Total $23.1M/Wk 2

4.) Godzilla Minus One (Toho) 2,622 (+82) theaters, Fri $1.34M (-41%) Sat $2M Sun $1.47M 3day $4.88M (-43%), Total $34.2M/Wk 3

5) Trolls Band Together (Uni/DWA) 3,157 (-294) theaters, Friday $930K (-34%) Sat $1.7M Sun 3-day $4M (-34%) Total $88.7M/Wk 5

6) Wish (Dis) 3,100 (-310) theaters, Fri $730K (-38%) Sat $1.39M Sun $1.08M 3-day $3.2M (-39%), Total $54.3M/Wk 4

7) Christmas With the Chosen: Holy Night (Fathom) 2059 theaters, Fri $875K Sat $1.05M Sun $1M 3-day $2.9M, Total $4.6M/Wk 1

8) Napoleon (Apple/Sony) 2,601 (-749) Fri $640K (-45%) Sat $955K Sun $630K 3-day $2.2M (-46%), Total $57M/Wk 4

9) Renaissance/Beyonce (AMC) 1,723 (-819) theaters Fri $553K (-66%) 3-day $2M (-63%) Total $30.88M/Wk 3

10) Poor Things (SEA) 82 (+73) theaters Fri $488K (+75%) Sat $422K Sun $365K 3-day $1.275M (+93%), Total $2.2M/Wk 2

Other:

Saltburn (Amazon MGM) 476 (-231) theaters, Fri $221K Sat $247K Sun $185K 3-day $653K (-40%), Total $10.1M/Wk 5

American Fiction (Amazon MGM) 7 theaters Fri $121K Sat $59K Sun $47K 3-day $227K, PTA $32,4K /Wk 1
The social poltical comedy played to 25-34 years old but also to those 55+ years. Early exits are 90% in the top two boxes and an 83% definite recommend which is rarefied air heading into awards season.

Zone of Interest (A24) 4 theaters Fri $58K Sat $37K Sun $29K 3-day $124K/PTA $31,1K /Wk 1
There were sellouts for Jonathan Glazer’s first film in nearly a decade at LA’s historic Vista Theater. Pic expands throughout the holiday season going full on wide in January.

UPDATED, Saturday AM: Warner Bros.’ Wonka is doing what it’s suppose to do this weekend for a mid-December, pre-Christmas family title: It has posted an A- CinemaScore on its way to an improved $37M-$38M, after a higher than expected previews/Friday of $14.4M. Some industry estimates have Wonka reaching a $40M opening.

Dive deep into Wonka demos and you find that many are sweet on the film. Female ticket buyers under the age of 18 (11% of the audience) gave it an A+ and those under 25 (36%) gave it an A.

'Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes'
'Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes'

Again — a great result for a musical after the genre’s post-Covid funk, and the studio intentionally didn’t sell Wonka as such in trailers. Why? Apparently, test-audience focus groups generally hate musicals and the only way to get people into the theater with one is to trick ’em. If they get in the door and wind up enjoying themselves, then business is solid for a studio on a musical. This is the same reason why Lionsgate didn’t lean into those beautiful country ballad numbers in its Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes marketing to set that prequel apart from the rest of its previous sequels. Speaking of that movie, it continues to hold well at -35% with a fifth weekend of $6M and running total of $145.4M. Look for a pop on the pic during the Christmas and New Year’s Eve periods.

PostTrak exits are still very good for the Paul King-directed Wonka at four-and-a-half stars, 85% in the top boxes and 64% definite recommend. Kids under 12 gave it 87% positive and a 70% definite recommend, but parents gave it five stars, which means they’ll tell other parents who’ll spend money to get their kids out of the house in the near future. This Timothée Chalamet movie is skewing female, at 54%, which isn’t a surprise. An estimated 60% of the audience is between 18-34 and the largest demo is 18-24 at 33%, with 10% between 13 and 17. Diversity demos are 46% Caucasian, 27% Latino and Hispanic, 10% Black and 11% Asian American. PLF and Imax screen are only driving 35% of the weekend’s ticket sales, which is as expected for a family title. Wonka is the sweetest in the West, South Central and Mountain Regions. Top-grossing theater in the nation? Not the tried-and-true AMC Burbank, it turns out, but the Jordan Commons in Utah with $62K so far.

Other social media comps from RelishMix: Wonka at north of 326M followers across TikTok, Instagram, X, Facebook and YouTube is just under the reach of pre-Covid musical The Greatest Showman (331.2M) and far ahead of the post-Covid 20th Century Studios/Amblin/Disney’s West Side Story (175.2M).

Fathom’s Christmas With The Chosen: Holy Night booked at 2,059 is looking at $872K for Friday after a a Tuesday launch for a 3-day of $3M in 7th place. No CinemaScore results, but Rotten Tomatoes audiences like it at 88%. South and the Midwest are the best regions, natch, for this faith-based movie. The Village Cinema in Meridian, ID (which never pops up on any list of top grossing theaters for a movie) is the highest-grossing venue for the pic at $2K so far.

Amazon MGM’s TIFF-winning American Fiction launched in seven locations in three markets (AMC Century City, AMC Burbank, AMC Grove, Alamo South Lamar Austin, Alamo Brooklyn, Angelika NYC and AMC Lincoln Square) with $121K yesterday on its way to $219K 3-day or a $31K opening weekend theater average, which is solid for this marketplace. Alamo Brooklyn is tops with $25.2K. Pic will expand throughout the holidays. The Cord Jefferson-directed comedy is up for two Golden Globe noms, for Best Comedy Musical Feature and for Jeffrey Wright in the Best Actor Comedy Musical category.

More poms poms for Amazon MGM on the arthouse front: Their Emerald Fennell-helmed Saltburn, also twice-Globe-nominated, is crossing the $10M mark this weekend with $686K at 476 theatres before its Prime Video debut this coming Friday. That’s near the $10.5M domestic result of Barry Keoghan’s The Banshees of Inisherin last year, and it’s more than other arthouse titles last fall, i.e. Tar ($6.8M), Bones and All ($7.8M) and Fennell’s 2020 Covid theatrical release (sans NYC, LA and San Fran markets), Promising Young Woman ($6.4M).

More fun times on the specialty front during the pre-Christmas period: Searchlight’s saucy Poor Things popped into the top 10 with $488K yesterday after a 73-theater expansion in 21 markets brought it to a total of 82 sites. Its projected $1.1M 3-day is nearly a $15K per-theater average. Running total for the Emma Stone starring and produced period absurdist comedy is $2.1M by EOD Sunday. The movie is up for seven Golden Globes, including Best Feature Comedy Musical.

A24 has their 4x Cannes Film Festival award-winning drama The Zone of Interest in four theaters –AMC Century City, Vista LA, Angelika NY and AMC LSQ NY. The Jonathan Glazer-directed film is putting up good numbers after a $58K Friday, and expected 3-day of $143K or $35K per theater. The portrait of an Auschwitz commandant and his family living next to the concentration camp netted three Golden Globe nominations, including for Best Drama Feature.

All movies this weekend look to gross $80.5M, which is +13% over last weekend when The Boy and the Heron was the only wide release, but it’s -47% from a year ago when Avatar: The Way of Water debuted. This weekend is also -32% from the same frame in pre-Covid December 2019 which was when Jumanji: The Next Level led all movies before Christmas with $59.2M.

The chart as of Saturday:

1.) Wonka (WB) 4,203 theaters, Fri $14.4M, 3-day $37M-$38M/Wk 1

2.) Hunger Games: Songbirds & Snakes (LG) 3,291 (-374) theaters, Fri $1.7M (-37%), 3-day $6M (-35%), total $145.4M/Wk 5

3.) Boy and the Heron (GKIDs) 2,325 (+120) theaters, Fri $1.4M (-75%), 3-day $5M (-62%), Total $22.9M/Wk 2

4.) Godzilla Minus One (Toho) 2,622 (+82) theaters, Fri $1.34M (-41%), 3day $4.89M (-42%), Total $34.1M/Wk 3

5) Trolls Band Together (Uni/DWA) 3,157 (-294) theaters, Friday $900K (-34%) 3-day $4M (-34%) Total $88.7M/Wk 5

6) Wish (Dis) 3,100 (-310) theaters, Fri $730K (-38%) 3-day $3.2M (-39%), Total $54.3M/Wk 4

7) Christmas With the Chosen: Holy Night (Fathom) 2059 theaters, Fri $872K 3-day $3M, Total $4.7M/Wk 1

8) Napoleon (Apple/Sony) 2,601 (-749) Fri $640K (-45%), 3-day $2.2M (-46%), Total $57M/Wk 4

9) Renaissance/Beyonce (AMC) 1,723 (-819) theaters Fri $553K (-66%) 3-day $1.9M (-65%) Total $30.7M/Wk 3

10) Poor Things (SEA) 82 (+73) theaters Fri $488K (+75%), 3-day $1.1M (+66%), Total $2.1M/Wk 2

UPDATED, Friday afternoon: Warner Bros’ Wonka is looking at a $12 million-$13 million Friday, including those $3.5M previews from last night, on its way to a $35M+ start at the domestic box office at 4,203 locations. That’s a respectable opening for this time of year when moviegoers are still sidelined by holiday activities, and it’s a solid start for a feature musical, currently ahead of the three-day total of 2008’s Mamma Mia! ($27.7M) and Hairspray ($27.8M).

In fact, after such musical missteps as In the Heights ($11.5M), West Side Story ($10.5M) and Dear Evan Hansen ($7.4M), Wonka is definite comeback for feature musicals.

Social Media analytics corp RelishMix reports a social media universe for the Timothée Chalamet movie across X, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram of 326.4 million, boosted by a dedicated TikTok channel plus 55% of engagement on YouTube videos. That SMU is higher than such movies as Mary Poppins Returns (229.4M), yet below Cruella (424.7M).

The rest of this frame’s top pics are as follows

2.) Hunger Games: Songbirds & Snakes (LG) 3,291 theaters, Fri $1.65M (-37%), 3-day $6M (-35%), total $145.4M/Wk 5

3.) Boy and the Heron (GKIDs) 2,325 theaters, Fri $1.2M (-79%), 3-day $4.7M (-64%), Total $22.8M/Wk 2

4.) Godzilla Minus One (Toho) 2,622 theaters, Fri $1.2M (-45%), 3day $4.4M (-48%), Total $33.7M/Wk 3

5) Trolls Band Together (Uni/DWA) 3,154 theaters, Friday $900K, 3-day $4M (-34%) Total $88.7M/Wk 5

PREVIOUSLY, Friday AM: Warner Bros.’ Wonka made $3.5 million in previews from 3,500 locations. The Timothée Chalamet feature musical expands to 4,203 theaters with an eye on $30M-$40M opening.

Interestingly enough comp wise, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse opened in the same mid-December spot back in 2018, and notched a $3.5M Thursday preview before a three-day of $35M. That pic legged out to a 5x-plus multiple at the domestic box office with $190.2M.

Wonka is one of three big pics coming from Warners in which the Burbank studio is expected to own the top three spots at the domestic box office during Christmas week. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom arrives next weekend with a $45M-$50M four-day outlook, and The Color Purple on December 25 with an opening-day projection of $8M.

Wonka is arguably the first Hollywood tentpole to get a fire-breathing, six-week in advance marketing campaign rollout. Other movies such as Lionsgate’s The Hunger Game: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, even though it had a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement, only had about a week’s runway to trot out their cast at the last minute following the end of the actors strike in November. Disney’s The Marvels had two days with its cast before opening.

Wonka is 83% certified fresh with critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Early audience exits on Comscore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak are solid at 84% positive and 63% definite recommend with 5 stars from parents and kids under 12. Last night’s audience leaned 52% men, 48% women with 33% guys over 25, 30% women over 25, 22% women under 25, and 16% men under 25.

Following Chalamet’s Best Actor Oscar nomination for Call Me by Your Name in 2018, there’s been a mad push by Hollywood to make him a box office star. At $41M, Warner Bros./Legendary’s Dune remains his top opener stateside with $41M; that pic’s theatrical day-and-date debut with HBO Max crimping its full commercial potential. Several sources believe that Dune: Part Two during the first weekend of March 2024 is the tentpole that will finally fire up the year.

Elsewhere at the box office, Gkids’ and Studio Ghibli’s The Boy and the Heron did $970K yesterday, -26% from Wednesday for a first week of $18M at 2,205 theaters. The Hayao Miyazaki directed animated film is expected to ease around -50% this weekend with around $6M+.

Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes at 3,665 theaters saw a fourth Thursday of $830K, -12% from Wednesday, for a fourth week of $13.1M and running total of $139.4M.

Toho’s Godzilla Minus One booked at 2,540 theaters saw a second Thursday of $750K, -22% from Wednesday, ending week 2 with $12.3M, and a running cume of $29.3M.

Fathom launched Christmas With the Chosen on Tuesday at 2,128 theaters earning $689K on opening day, $486K Wednesday and $560K Thursday for a running total of $1.7M.

AMC’s Renaissance: A Film by Beyonce came back for her third Thursday yesterday, after resting Monday through Wednesday, grossing $485K for a running cume of $29M.

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