Timothée Chalamet in ‘Wonka’.
| Photo Credit: Warner Bros. Pictures/YouTube
Wonka debuted with $39 million in box office sales in U.S. and Canadian theatres over the weekend, according to studio estimates on Sunday. That made it a strong start for the Timothée Chalamet-starring Willy Wonka musical that underscored the young star’s draw.
Musicals have been tough sells in theatres in recent years, so much so that Warner Bros. downplayed the song and dance elements of Wonka in trailers. Instead, the studio emphasized Chalamet, the 27-year-old actor who, with Wonka, notched his second No. 1 movie following 2021’s Dune. The earlier film recorded a $41 million opening.
While Dune was a sprawling and star-studded sci-fi adventure, Wonka relies chiefly on Chalamet’s charisma.
Wonka, which cost about $125 million to produce and played at 4,203 locations, was also the first big Hollywood release to launch following the end of the SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike. Chalamet hosted Saturday Night Live just days after the strike ended. In his opening monologue, he sang to the tune of “Pure Imagination” about “returning to this magical world where actors can promote their projects.”
“It shows you the power of a star, and it also shows you the power of a star going out and working a movie,” said Jeffrey Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros. “Having him out there after the strikes were over was a win for him and a win for the movie.”
Goldstein expects Wonka to be the go-to choice from families over the holidays. Its main competition for kids will be Universal Pictures’ animated Migration.
Wonka, directed by Paul King of Paddington and Paddington 2, is a prequel to 1971’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, with Chalamet starring as a young Wonka trying to open a candy store. Its ensemble cast includes Hugh Grant, Olivia Colman and Keegan-Michael Key.
Warner Bros. last revived Roald Dahl’s classic with the 2005 Tim Burton-directed Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, starring Johnny Depp. It debuted with $56.2 million and ultimately grossed $475 million worldwide.
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To reach those numbers, Wonka will need strong legs through the lucrative holiday moviegoing period. On its side are mostly good reviews. Chalamet is also drawing younger ticket-buyers. Moviegoers under the age of 25 accounted for 36% of the audience, which was split evenly between 51% females and 49% males. Wonka added $53.6 million in overseas ticket sales.
“Chalamet is a true movie star who’s been developing his craft and his reputation over many years,” says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. “Everybody’s looking for who’s the next big movie star. Is it all about the old-school leading men? Chalamet is definitely that.” For Warner Bros., it’s the first in a trio of high-profile holiday releases, to be followed by Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom on December 22 and another musical, The Color Purple on December 25.
