'Wonka' Tops Opening Box Office Weekend With $151.4 Million USD Globally
A promising start to the holiday season for the musical.
Timothée Chalamet Wonka is on the way to becoming a holiday favorite. Dancing into pre-Christmas box office with a $39 million USD domestic debut and $151.4 million USD global debut, the film is shows promise for the yuletide season.
Overseas, it raked in $53.6 million USD from 77 markets which included a foreignn tally of $112.4 million USD when it opened early in England, Australia and other markets. The early success is encouraging for the musical genre which has previously struggled. Wonka is considered a whimsical origin story that follows the life of the magical candyman Willy Wonka. The character was originally played by Gene Wilder in the classic film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
The film, along with The Color Purple are hoping to change the way the genre is perceived and to match the success of Hugh Jackman’s successful The Greatest Showman. Wonka has been one of the first Hollywood projects to debut at the box office following the SAG-AFTRA strike. The film’s early success shows that it is a promising start for the musical as it enters into the cChristmas weekend. The weekend always poses as a challenge due to consumers occupied with other tasks for the holiday.
