- Wonka is nearing a $250 million milestone at the global box office, with $171 million generated from overseas markets and $85 million from North America.
- The film’s success proves that audiences have no problem with musicals, despite the genre’s recent struggles in the post-pandemic era.
- Reviews for Wonka have been positive, with an 83% score on Rotten Tomatoes and audiences giving it a strong A- CinemaScore.
After registering a respectable hold at the domestic box office in its second weekend, Warner Bros.’ musical drama Wonka is nearing a huge milestone globally. The film opened in select international markets a week prior to its stateside debut, and has now generated a massive $171 million from overseas markets in addition to the $85 million that it has made in North America.
Wonka is expected to gross around $18 million domestically in its second weekend, and approximately $26 million across the extended Christmas weekend, which should take its running domestic total to $83 million. Combined with its $171 million international gross, Wonka will comfortably pass the $250 million milestone at the global box office by Monday. The movie is currently sitting at $246 million worldwide, against a reported budget of $125 million. Wonka’s biggest international territories are the U.K. ($23.5 million), Mexico ($12 million), China ($5.5 million), France ($5.2 million) and Spain ($4.3 million).
Directed by Paul King, who enjoys considerable goodwill thanks to his two beloved Paddington movies, Wonka is a prequel to Roald Dahl’s timeless classic, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.” The movie stars Timothée Chalamet as the famed chocolatier, a role that has previously been played on film by Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp. Chalamet would’ve had a massive fall season this year had Dune: Part Two not been delayed to 2024 following the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.
‘Wonka’s Success Shows that Audiences Don’t Have a Problem with Musicals
Wonka Movies | Global Box Office |
|---|---|
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) | $4 million |
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) | $475 million |
Wonka (2023) | $246 million |
It would also appear that W.B’s gamble to cloak the fact that Wonka is a musical appears to have paid off, at least initially. It was observed that the genre hadn’t been doing all that well in the post-pandemic era, with In the Heights, West Side Story and Dear Evan Hansen all flopping. In fact, the last musical that did fabulous business was The Greatest Showman in 2017; the movie also holds the distinction of having delivered one of the strongest holds in modern box office history, going from a $9 million opening to a $175 million lifetime haul. But Wonka’s sustained performance at the box office proves that audiences never really had any problem with musicals in the first place.
Reviews for the film have been solid. The film currently sits at a “fresh” 83% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. The movie also earned a strong A- CinemaScore from opening day audiences, while Collider’s Ross Bonaime praised the film’s visuals, and also Chalamet’s central performance. He wrote in his review that the young actor perfectly captures the character’s “charm and optimism.” Also starring Calah Lane, Sally Hawkins, Olivia Colman, Rowan Atkinson and Hugh Grant, Wonka is currently playing in theaters. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Based on the extraordinary character at the center of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, ‘Wonka’ tells the wondrous story of how the world’s greatest inventor, magician and chocolate-maker became the beloved Willy Wonka we know today.
