The weekend box office was won by "Wonka," the latest release from Warner Bros. Discovery WBD, which is riding high from the box office and award nomination success of the "Barbie" movie.
What Happened: Starring Timothée Chalamet as the title character Willy Wonka, new movie “Wonka” grossed $39 million in its opening weekend, leading the box office.
The new movie is a prequel origin story about the famous chocolate mogul, a character featured in movies from 1971 and 2005 that covered the Roald Dahl book, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."
The opening box office falls shy of the $56.2 million recognized from the 2005 film, which starred Johnny Depp as Wonka. That movie, released in July of that year, went on to gross $206.5 million domestically and $475.0 million worldwide. The movie had a budget of $150 million.
The original 1971 film grossed $573,368 domestically.
Related Link: How To Win An Edible Xbox Controller And Willy Wonka-Themed Xbox Series X
Why It's Important: While the opening weekend box office comes against a budget of $125 million and is down from the 2005 opening, Variety shared that there was good news for Warner Bros. Discovery when it comes to the film.
The movie got an A- rating on CinemaScore and had an 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, suggesting praise from moviegoers and critics.
Variety said December new releases don't always have huge opening weekends, but can sometimes have more sticking power into the new year.
The PG-rated film also faces minimal competition in the coming weeks, suggesting it could play well with families during the holiday season, a popular movie-going time.
Photo: “Wonka,” Warner Bros. Discovery, via IMDb
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