There was serious concern heading into December this year as there was no clear-cut winner to help send 2023 out on a high note. 2021 had “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ($1.9 billion worldwide) and 2022 had “Avatar: The Way of Water” ($2.32 billion worldwide) Sad to say, “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” opened to just $40 million across the four-day holiday stretch. It will come nowhere near matching the highs posted by DC’s “Aquaman” ($1.1 billion worldwide) in 2018. Illumination’s “Migration” also opened to just $17.8 million during the four-day stretch. Yes, it will probably have legs because it’s the only animated, family-friendly game in town, but ticket sales like that aren’t going to fill screens across the country.
But “Wonka” has emerged as a serious contender to save the winter box office. WB’s “The Color Purple” also had a monster $18 million opening day, meaning that the studio is positioned to save the entire season with a pair of musicals. Will wonders never cease? King’s film is based on Roald Dahl’s beloved children’s book and tells the story of how Willy Wonka became a world-famous chocolate maker. It carries a $125 million budget. A couple of weeks ago, that figure seemed high and risky. Now? It has already proved to be a good investment.
The question now is just how high the movie can fly. If it continues to leg out through January and into February, it should have no problem clearing $400 million worldwide. If things go exceedingly well? $500 million could be within reach. It’s not a superhero, nor is it a big animated film from the studio that brought us the Minions. Rather, it is Willy f*****g Wonka who is here to save the day.
“Wonka” is in theaters now.