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UPDATED, Saturday AM: Warner Bros.’ Wonka is doing what it’s suppose to do this weekend for a mid-December, pre-Christmas family title: A- CinemaScore on its way to an improved $37M-$38M after a higher than expected previews/Friday of $14.4M. Some industry estimates have Wonka at a $40M opening.
Again — a great result for a musical after the genre’s funk post Covid, and the studio intentionally didn’t sell Wonka as one in trailers. Why? Apparently test audience focus groups hate musicals and the only way to get people into the theater when it comes to them is to trick ’em. If they get tricked, and they like it, then business is solid for a studio. This is the same reason why Lionsgate didn’t lean into those beautiful country ballad numbers in its Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes marketing to set that prequel apart from the rest of its previous sequels. Speaking of that movie, it continues to hold well at -35% with a fifth weekend of $6M and running total of $145.4M. Look for a pop on the pic over Christmas and New Year’s Eve.
PostTrak exits are still very good for the Paul King directed Wonka at 4 1/2 stars, 85% in the top boxes and 64% definite recommend. Kids under 12 gave it 87% positive and a 70% definite recommend. More females on this Timothee Chalamet movie at 54% which isn’t a surprise with 60% of the audience between 18-34 and the largest demo being 18-24 at 33% with 10% between 13-17. Diversity demos are 46% Caucasian, 27% Latino and Hispanic, 10% Black and 11% Asian American. PLF and Imax screen are only driving 35% of the weekend’s ticket sales, which is no surprise for a family title. Wonka is the sweetest in the West, South Central and Mountain Regions. Top grossing theater in the nation? Not the tried and true AMC Burbank, but the Jordan Commons in Utah with $62K so far.
Other social media comps from RelishMix: Wonka at north of 326M followers across TikTok, Instagram, X, Facebook and YouTube is just under the reach of pre-Covid musical The Greatest Showman (331.2M) and far ahead of the post-Covid 20th Century Studios/Amblin/Disney’s West Side Story (175.2M).
Fathom’s Christmas With The Chosen: Holy Night booked at 2,059 is looking at $872K for Friday aftera a Tuesday launch for a 3-day of $3M in 7th place. No CinemaScore, but Rotten Tomatoes audiences like it at 88%. South and the Midwest are the best regions, natch, for this faith-based movie. The Village Cinema in Meridian ID (which never pops up on any list of top grossing theaters) is the highest grossing venue for the pic at $2K so far.
Amazon MGM’s TIFF winning American Fiction launched in seven locations in three markets (AMC Century City, AMC Burbank, AMC Grove, Alamo South Lamar Austin, Alamo Brooklyn, Angelika NYC and AMC Lincoln Square) with $121K yesterday on its way to $219K 3-day or a $31K solid opening weekend theater average for this marketplace. Alamo Brooklyn is tops with $25,2K. Pic will expand throughout the holidays.
UPDATED, Friday afternoon: Warner Bros’ Wonka is looking at a $12 million-$13 million Friday, including those $3.5M previews from last night, on its way to a $35M+ start at the domestic box office at 4,203 locations. That’s a respectable opening for this time of year when moviegoers are still sidelined by holiday activities, and it’s a solid start for a feature musical, currently ahead of the three-day total of 2008’s Mamma Mia! ($27.7M) and Hairspray ($27.8M).
In fact, after such musical missteps as In the Heights ($11.5M), West Side Story ($10.5M) and Dear Evan Hansen ($7.4M), Wonka is definite comeback for feature musicals.
Social Media analytics corp RelishMix reports a social media universe for the Timothée Chalamet movie across X, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram of 326.4 million, boosted by a dedicated TikTok channel plus 55% of engagement on YouTube videos. That SMU is higher than such movies as Mary Poppins Returns (229.4M), yet below Cruella (424.7M).
The rest of this frame’s top pics are as follows
2.) Hunger Games: Songbirds & Snakes (LG) 3,291 theaters, Fri $1.65M (-37%), 3-day $6M (-35%), total $145.4M/Wk 5
3.) Boy and the Heron (GKIDs) 2,325 theaters, Fri $1.2M (-79%), 3-day $4.7M (-64%), Total $22.8M/Wk 2
4.) Godzilla Minus One (Toho) 2,622 theaters, Fri $1.2M (-45%), 3day $4.4M (-48%), Total $33.7M/Wk 3
5) Trolls Band Together (Uni/DWA) 3,154 theaters, Friday $900K, 3-day $4M (-34%) Total $88.7M/Wk 5
PREVIOUSLY, Friday AM: Warner Bros.’ Wonka made $3.5 million in previews from 3,500 locations. The Timothée Chalamet feature musical expands to 4,203 theaters with an eye on $30M-$40M opening.
Interestingly enough comp wise, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse opened in the same mid-December spot back in 2018, and notched a $3.5M Thursday preview before a three-day of $35M. That pic legged out to a 5x-plus multiple at the domestic box office with $190.2M.
Wonka is one of three big pics coming from Warners in which the Burbank studio is expected to own the top three spots at the domestic box office during Christmas week. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom arrives next weekend with a $45M-$50M four-day outlook, and The Color Purple on December 25 with an opening-day projection of $8M.
Wonka is arguably the first Hollywood tentpole to get a fire-breathing, six-week in advance marketing campaign rollout. Other movies such as Lionsgate’s The Hunger Game: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, even though it had a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement, only had about a week’s runway to trot out their cast at the last minute following the end of the actors strike in November. Disney’s The Marvels had two days with its cast before opening.
Wonka is 83% certified fresh with critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Early audience exits on Comscore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak are solid at 84% positive and 63% definite recommend with 5 stars from parents and kids under 12. Last night’s audience leaned 52% men, 48% women with 33% guys over 25, 30% women over 25, 22% women under 25, and 16% men under 25.
Following Chalamet’s Best Actor Oscar nomination for Call Me by Your Name in 2018, there’s been a mad push by Hollywood to make him a box office star. At $41M, Warner Bros./Legendary’s Dune remains his top opener stateside with $41M; that pic’s theatrical day-and-date debut with HBO Max crimping its full commercial potential. Several sources believe that Dune: Part Two during the first weekend of March 2024 is the tentpole that will finally fire up the year.
Elsewhere at the box office, Gkids’ and Studio Ghibli’s The Boy and the Heron did $970K yesterday, -26% from Wednesday for a first week of $18M at 2,205 theaters. The Hayao Miyazaki directed animated film is expected to ease around -50% this weekend with around $6M+.
Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes at 3,665 theaters saw a fourth Thursday of $830K, -12% from Wednesday, for a fourth week of $13.1M and running total of $139.4M.
Toho’s Godzilla Minus One booked at 2,540 theaters saw a second Thursday of $750K, -22% from Wednesday, ending week 2 with $12.3M, and a running cume of $29.3M.
Fathom launched Christmas With the Chosen on Tuesday at 2,128 theaters earning $689K on opening day, $486K Wednesday and $560K Thursday for a running total of $1.7M.
AMC’s Renaissance: A Film by Beyonce came back for her third Thursday yesterday, after resting Monday through Wednesday, grossing $485K for a running cume of $29M.
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