Another sweet weekend for ‘Wonka’

Hello! Welcome to The Box Office Report for the weekend of Jan. 5-7, 2024.

1. Wonka

Weekend gross: $14.4M
Total domestic gross: $164.7M
Last weekend: 1st
Percent drop: 36

The Box Office Report was off the past two weekends, and I definitely wasn’t expecting to still be talking about Wonka at No. 1 when I returned.

With one blip over Christmas weekend, the Timothée Chalamet prequel has ruled the box office since its premiere on Dec. 15. Wonka slipped to No. 2 when Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom debuted at No. 1 but regained the top spot the following weekend while holding off new releases like Migration, Anyone But You, The Iron Claw, The Color Purple and Night Swim.

Wonka is now director Paul King’s biggest hit. In addition to grossing $164.7 million in North America, the film stands at $465.9 million worldwide. These hauls outgross Paddington ($76.2 million domestic, $252.4 million worldwide) and Paddington 2 ($40.9 million domestic, $192.7 million worldwide).

2. Night Swim

Weekend gross: $12M
Total domestic gross: $12M
Last weekend: New release
Percent drop: NA

A quiet box office debut for director/screenwriter Bryce McGuire. Night Swim is the latest horror film from Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions and James Wan’s Atomic Monster. Is a $12 million opening weekend enough for the supernatural Night Swim pool to join the Blumhouse/Atomic Monster world of horror franchises?

3. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

Weekend gross: $10.6M
Total domestic gross: $100M
Last weekend: 2nd
Percent drop: 42

While The Box Office Report was off, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom drew the curtain on the DCEU. The fifteenth and final film in the cinematic universe kicked off by Man of Steel in 2013, the Aquaman sequel opened at No. 1 with a $27.7 million debut (the fourth smallest in DCEU history) before dropping to No. 2 last weekend and No. 3 this weekend.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom hit the $100 million mark in North America this weekend — an achievement that the original Aquaman movie did in just five days. Through its third weekend, the first Aquaman’s domestic gross stood at $260 million.

4. Migration

Weekend gross: $10.3M
Total domestic gross: $77.8M
Last weekend: 3rd
Percent drop: 40

Migration is the latest animated film from Illumination, the studio that gave the world the Minions. Illumination is also responsible for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, a film that grossed a whopping $1.36 billion worldwide last year.

Migration is not The Super Mario Bros. Movie. While it filled a need for a family friendly moviegoing option over the holidays, Migration’s worldwide box office gross of $150.7 million through three weekends just barely beats out the $146.4 million that Mario grossed over its North American opening weekend alone.

5. Anyone But You

Weekend gross: $9.5M
Total domestic gross: $43.7M
Last weekend: 5th
Percent increase: 9

Here’s an odd one: More people seem to be seeing Anyone But You, the romcom starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell, each weekend it’s been in theaters.

The film debuted with $6 million two weekends ago. Last weekend it jumped 46 percent for an $8.8 million haul. And now this weekend, Anyone But You brought in $9.5 million.

Box office numbers via The Numbers based on Sunday estimates.