Box Office Remains Sweet for "Wonka" While "Aquaman" Continues Sinking | News

As 2023 comes to an end, most movies now in theaters are either seeing their grosses go up from last weekend or drop only slightly.

The most prolific drop from last weekend to this one belongs to last week's number one film, "Aquaman and the Lost kingdom," which fell almost 30% from its debut.

That fall allowed fellow Warner Bros. release "Wonka" to reclaim the top spot in its third weekend with a gross of nearly $24 million, an increase of nearly 33% from its gross last weekend.

So far "Wonka" has made almost $135 million in North America and more than $244 million elsewhere. By the end of New Year's Day its global take should be more than $387 million.

While the fortunes for "Wonka" continue looking sweet, Warner Bros. still has the bitter pill of the second "Aquaman" to swallow. While a 30% drop isn't dire most weekends, this weekend it is three times larger than the next largest drop in the top 10.

The $19.5 million the king of the ocean marshalled this weekend brings his film's domestic total to almost $78 million so far. It has made almost $174 million outside the U.S. and should have a worldwide gross of more than $259 million by the end of Monday.

Still, the movie reportedly cost more than $200 million, and its breakeven point is likely double that with marketing costs, so it has a long way to go before it sees profitability.

"Migration," from Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment, took the number three spot for the second weekend in a row.

When that movie opened last week to a lackluster $12.3 million many analysts wrote it off as a failure. A week later, and those who spoke ill of the bird movie's box office prospects have egg on their face, as the grosses for "Migration" jumped by nearly 40%, with the film bringing in $17.2 million from Friday to Sunday, bringing its U.S. earnings to more than $54 million.

In foreign territories the movie has made more than $46 million and will have racked up nearly $106 million globally by the end of New Year's.

In fourth place, the musical adaptation of "The Color Purple" has been posting impressive numbers since its debut on Christmas Day, when it opened in first place with more than $18 million.

Since then, day to day grosses have tapered off, but it managed a respectable $13 million from Friday through Sunday and has so far made $45.3 million in North America. It has not yet opened internationally.

Rounding out the top five is the romantic comedy "Anyone but You." Much like "Migration," this movie posted disappointing numbers last weekend but saw a boom in ticket sales a week later, with grosses jumping an impressive 50%.

After bringing in $9 million this weekend "Anyone but You" has so far made $25 million domestically. It has made less than $6 million elsewhere and is expected to have $33.3 million in its coffers by the end of the New Year's holiday.

Here are the top 10 films at this weekend's box office:

1. "Wonka" ($23.95 million)

2. "Aquaman and the Lost kingdom" ($19.5 million)

3. "Migration" ($17.2 million)

4. "The Color Purple" ($13 million)

5. "Anyone but You" ($9 million)

6. "The Boys in the Boat" ($8.3 million)

7. "The Iron Claw" ($5 million)

8. "Ferrari" ($4 million)

9. "The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes" ($2.9 million)

10. "The Boy and the Heron" ($2.5 million)