“’Wonka’ is following in the tradition of a film like ‘The Greatest Showman,’” said
“’Wonka’ is a perfect crowd pleaser released at the perfect time and it’s going to ride that wave into January,” Dergarabedian said. "It’s an opportune time for it to be in the marketplace.”
After finishing 2023 on a high note, 2024 is getting off to a slower start than last year, down around 16%, with the Universal/Blumhouse horror “Night Swim” as the only major new offering in theaters. The movie stars
“Night Swim” drew in an estimated
“Not only did it perform really well at the box office, but it's going to make us look at every swimming pool with a little more trepidation,” said
Horror movies are largely critic-proof, but with fairly negative reviews and a C CinemaScore rating, it’s unlikely to repeat the viral success of last year’s demon doll movie “M3GAN.”
“We don’t have ‘Avatar: The Way of Water,’ which totally dominated the box office a year ago, or ‘M3GAN,’ which made that a bigger weekend,” said Dergarabedian. “But it’s a bit early to call it in terms of how the year is going to turn out."
Warner Bros. and Universal placed third and fourth on the charts as well. Warner Bros.’ DC superhero movie “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” earned
Sony’s
Cineplexes are full of awards contenders, including “The Color Purple,” “The Iron Claw” and “Poor Things,” and the Golden Globes broadcast Sunday night might help spread awareness for those and other films.
“The Golden Globes are like a three-hour infomercial for the industry,” Dergarabedian said. “There’s no downside to having a very high profile telecast that puts a spotlight on the movies.”
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at
1. “Wonka,”
2. “Night Swim,”
3. “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,”
4. “Migration,”
5. “Anyone But You,”
6. “The Boys in the Boat,”
7. “The Color Purple,”
8. “The Iron Claw,”
9. “Ferrari,”
10. “Poor Things,”
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