New Holiday Hit Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes

Christmas Day’s box office had one major surprise. The Color Purple managed to rake in $18 million on its debut and now the movie is “Certified Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes. On the review aggregator, the musical adaptation of Alice Walker’s beloved novel sits at an 89% on the Tomatometer. The audience score is actually even higher at 94% with over 1,000 verified ratings. Wildly enough, Warner Bros. has a trio of hits atop the Christmas Day box office ladder. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom reigned at number one. Wonka lagging slightly behind The Color Purple. What a wild end to the year for the company as Barbie was the unquestioned biggest movie of 2023.

On The Color Purple side of things, the movie has woken up Christmas Day in a massive way. The Blitz Bazawule film has the best opening on the winter holiday since 2009. In addition, the new movie has the accomplishment of being the second-biggest Christmas Day opening ever. A lot of that is word of mouth traveling. Some of it speaks to the ability of Ferrari and The Boy in the Boat to compete. But, a large part of The Color Purple’s success story is a wonderful cast headlined by stars like Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Halle Bailey, Colman Domingo and Danielle Brooks. Now, the question persists of how far the movie can travel into the new year.

The Color Purple Sparks Conversation

On social media, there was always going to be buzz around The Color Purple. Before the film’s debut, a conversation about the pay gap that Black actresses face in their careers was started by some comments Taraji P. Henson made during THR‘s interview with the cast of the movie. Nekesa Mumbi Moody asked about how the acclaim for turns in Empire and other massive hits measures against other actors in town.

“I’ve been getting paid and I’ve been fighting tooth and nail every project to get that same freaking [fee] quote. And it’s a slap in the face when people go, ‘Oh girl, you work all the time. You always working.’ Well, goddammit, I have to. It’s not because I wish I could do two movies a year and that’s that. I have to work because the math ain’t mathing. And I have bills,” she told THR. 

“Listen, I’ve been doing this for two decades and sometimes I get tired of fighting because I know what I do is bigger than me. I know that the legacy I leave will affect somebody coming up behind me. My prayer is that I don’t want these Black girls to have the same fights that me and Viola [Davis], Octavia [Spencer], we out here thugging it out,” Henson says. “Otherwise, why am I doing this? For my own vanity? There’s no blessing in that. I’ve tried twice to walk away [from the business]. But I can’t, because if I do, how does that help the ones coming up behind me?”

Danielle Brooks Shines In The Color Purple

The end of 2023 has been extra special for Danielle Brooks. In Blitz Bazawule’s new version of The Color Purple, she plays Sofia. Her performance has garnered positive reviews. The run on Christmas Day has made a lot of people stand up and take notice. When the project was announced, Brooks got the news about her selection from Oprah Winfrey herself. Clearly, getting such a message from the entertainment mogul would be emotional for just about anybody. But, coupling that with the loved Oprah feels for this character in-particular? There wasn’t a dry eye around.

“I am here representing all things purple to tell you that you are our Sophia,” Oprah told the actress. “I’m so happy to pass whatever baton from 35 — almost 40 — years ago to you. And I know you’re gonna kill it.”

Brooks got so emotional, but shed also promised to make Oprah and everyone who came before proud. “You already have,” Oprah continued “I wanted to be the one to tell you because you know I have such love for her, this character, everything she represents and everything she brought to my life. And what I’m hoping is that she does the same thing for you.”

Have you seen The Color Purple yet? Let us know down in the comments!