Looks like the Chocolate Factory is turning in a profit while the Lost Kingdom loses big, as Wonka pulls ahead of the Aquaman sequel at the 2023 Christmas week box office.
Interestingly, 2022 had Avatar: The Way of Water and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever heading into Christmas week. This year, instead of Disney vs. Disney films, it’s Warner Bros. vs. Warner Bros. vying for the top spot at the box office. The contrasts, however, ends there, as Aquaman 2 had a lackluster debut, while Wonka gets a second wind after its initial two weeks.
Weekend Box Office Estimates: #WonkaMovie $23.950M #AquamanAndTheLostKingdom $19.5M #MigrationMovie $17.230M https://t.co/1N9FuvCmqk pic.twitter.com/ips4mrwDxG
— Box Office Mojo (@boxofficemojo) December 31, 2023
According to Box Office Mojo, “Wonka” surpassed both “The Color Purple” and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom.” The musical added another $8.6 million on Friday, which is a 32% increase from the previous week and crossing the $100 million mark domestically. With a cumulative total of $119 million, “Wonka” is poised to reach $300 million globally.
Settling for second place, “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” saw a 51% decline from its opening day, struggling to reach $65 million in its first week. Hindered by multiple delays, bad reviews, and general apathy for the abandoned DCEU even among its hardcore fans, the film is unlikely to match the $335 million domestic total of its predecessor, despite a substantial $205 million production budget.
But while Aquaman 2 is never going to reach the heights of its predecessor, the Jason Momoa-led sequel is showing legs. The weekly box office returns are showing a lower decline. Given that there are no big releases scheduled for a while, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom may at least reach numbers closer to Black Adam than Blue Beetle when its theatrical run is over.
As for the rest of the box office for Christmas week 2023:
- Maintaining a close third place, Illumination and Universal’s “Migration” earned $6.7 million on Friday, showing a promising 17% increase over the previous week. The original animated film, with a budget of $70 million, continues to build momentum.
- “The Color Purple” settled into the fourth spot after its impressive Christmas Day opening, earning $4.1 million on Friday and pushing its domestic tally to $36.4 million. With expectations of adding another $20 million during the four-day holiday weekend, the film anticipates a strong run through January during the awards season.
- Sony’s “Anyone but You” rounded out the top five with $3.3 million on Friday, witnessing an uptick in business throughout the week. While not reaching dazzling figures, the romantic comedy is on track to justify its $25 million production budget, likely surpassing $26 million in domestic gross through the New Year. Plus, this may be a test for Sydney Sweeney’s box office draw for Sony, as she will be one of the headliners for the upcoming Madame Web Spider-Verse movie in 2024.
- George Clooney’s “The Boys in the Boat,” a sports drama depicting U.S. rowers at the 1936 Summer Olympics, earned $2.4 million, bringing its domestic total to $13.6 million. While not a chart-topper, the film has carved its niche in the market.
Bringing in an estimated $281.4 million domestically, this marked a 14% increase from the same period the previous year. Even though there are fewer big releases for the last weeks of 2023, these box office numbers highlight the resilience of the movie industry post-pandemic. And given Wonka’s success, that potential sequel is probably guaranteed.
What do you think of the box office results for the Christmas week of 2023? As this closes out the year, do you think 2024 will have a better showing for its slate of movies? With Deadpool 3 being the only MCU film release and Joker: Folie à Deux the only DC property scheduled, are we going to see the Sony Spider-Verse films as the franchise that dominates 2024?
