By It looks as if people just cannot get enough of Wonka. Despite being a month old at this point, the charming origin story of one of cinema’s biggest chocolatiers has managed to nab another number-one spot at the weekend box office. I suppose there are worse ways to begin a new year.
Wonka grabbed another $14.4 million for Warner Bros., bringing its domestic total up to $164.6 million. Internationally, the film has pulled in $301.2 million, making a worldwide total of $465.8 million. That’s a solid return for the reported $125 million budget the film carries.
The number two spot belonged to newcomer Night Swim, which is a film I hadn’t even heard of until writing this. Released by Universal in association with Blumhouse, the horror movie raked in $12 million domestically but has received some incredibly harsh reviews. International gross helped the film pass $17.6 million worldwide, but against a budget of $15 million, the film isn’t in the clear yet.
As for the rest of the top 10, would you like to repeat it with me? “They are all holdovers from prior weeks.” That’s to be expected around this time of year when studios aren’t exactly keen to release bigger projects. You’ll typically see Oscar contenders getting wide releases around this time, though no films have been announced for the Oscars yet. It will be interesting to see what gets thrown into the “Best Picture” category.
Here are the top 10 films for the weekend of January 5-7, 2024. All totals listed are domestic:
- Wonka – $14.4 million
- Night Swim – $12 million
- Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom – $10.6 million
- Migration – $10.2 million
- Anyone But You – $9.5 million
- The Boys in the Boat – $6 million
- The Color Purple – $4.7 million
- The Iron Claw – $4.5 million
- Ferrari – $2.5 million
- Poor Things – $2 million
