In its seventh weekend in domestic theaters, the film Wonka, starring Timothée Chalamet as a young Willy Wonka, has achieved a remarkable feat by smashing a major box office record. The 2023 musical opened with a solid weekend earning of $39 million and has since demonstrated exceptional week-on-week resilience, facing stiff competition from holiday season releases like Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Migration, and Anyone But You. Despite the challenges, Wonka is on the verge of reaching the impressive $200 million milestone at the domestic box office, a feat accomplished by only eight other releases in 2023.
According to projections from Deadline, Wonka is expected to add an additional $5.8 million to its cumulative total by the end of its seventh weekend in North American theaters, bringing the total to $195 million. This achievement secures Wonka the third spot on the chart, trailing behind The Beekeeper and Mean Girls, both vying for the top position. Notably, Wonka’s seven-week streak in the Top 3 marks the longest for any live-action musical in the Top 20 highest-grossing musicals of all time.
The record-breaking success of Wonka is particularly noteworthy given the formidable competition it faces. Among the highest-grossing live-action musicals of all time are blockbuster releases like Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast remake ($1.27 billion worldwide), the Oscar-winning Bohemian Rhapsody ($903.6 million), and the popular Mamma Mia! ($609.9 million). Wonka’s sustained chart position over seven weeks has outperformed the initial weeks of other top live-action movie musicals, demonstrating its strong staying power.
Moreover, Wonka has the potential to maintain its Top 3 streak for additional weeks. While newer releases like Mean Girls and The Beekeeper currently rank higher on the chart, they are marginally ahead of Wonka. If these new releases experience significant drops in the coming weeks, Wonka could remain in the Top 3. The upcoming February release schedule is relatively quiet, with only one major new wide release, Matthew Vaughn’s Argylle, premiering during that period.
Although upcoming releases such as Lisa Frankenstein, Madame Web, and Drive-Away Dolls might pose competition, the continued success of Wonka suggests that it could maintain its strong performance into the beginning of March, provided it faces minimal challenges from new releases with weak opening weekends or substantial week-to-week drops.
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