WONKA Nabs Top Spot for 2024’s First Box Office Weekend
By Movieguide® Contributor
WONKA has proven to be the only Christmastime release with staying power, as it topped the first box office weekend of 2024.
In its fourth week in theaters, WONKA brought in $14.4 million, beating out the supernatural thriller NIGHT SWIM, which gathered $12 million during its opening weekend. AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM ($10.6 million) and MIGRATION ($10.25 million) battled for third as both crawled just over eight digits in their third week in theaters.
With this weekend’s gross included, WONKA has, in total, brought in $164 million domestically, landing as the No. 13 movie in the U.S. for 2023. Despite a subpar beginning, the movie has found its wings thanks to its family-friendly morals. A portion of Movieguide®’s review reads:
WONKA is a very fun, funny movie, one of the most entertaining movies of the year. There are many fun and memorable songs throughout the movie, which makes it a delight to watch. WONKA shows good triumphing over evil through the magic of joy and great dreams. It also supports the little entrepreneur starting his own little business in the face of a government-sanctioned cartel. However, MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older pre-teens because the cartel has bribed the police and a cathedral and its clerics with chocolate they can’t resist.
WONKA is just one example of a family-friendly movie that has soared above its competition in recent years. Many of 2023’s most popular movies promoted strong morals for the whole family and were critical factors in the industry, topping $9 billion over the year.
With a tumultuous year ahead, studios will hopefully focus on catering to the largest audience – families – and bring the industry back to its moral roots.
Movieguide® previously reported on WONKA:
Christmas Day box office takes pushed 2023’s total earnings to about $9 billion, with family-friendly movies making an impact over the holiday.
“Box Office Mojo, which records all studio reported grosses, through Monday showed a little under $8.7 billion. But Comscore, which gets grosses direct from theaters (and includes revenue for live events and other non-film presentations), put the total through Sunday at $8.725 billion. Add Monday and Tuesday, with around $110 million, and by their calculation the remaining five days will surpass $9 billion,” IndieWire reported.
WONKA, MIGRATION and THE BOYS IN THE BOAT were among the top five earners for Dec. 25 and 26.
Over the holiday, the Timothée Chalamet-led WONKA, which opened Dec. 15, took $18.9 million. It has surpassed $100 million domestically and more than $270 million worldwide.
