Wonka Leads Opening Weekend at the Box Office

Wonka is getting off to a stronger-than-expected start at the box office. The musical Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory prequel stars Timothee Chalamet as a younger version of the title character, famously played by Gene Wilder in the colorful original film and by Johnny Depp in a darker remake. Wonka is looking at earning $37-38 million at the box office in its opening weekend, riding high with a strong rating from CinemaScore and largely positive reviews. ComicBook.com’s Kofi Outlaw awarded the film a review score of 4-out-of-5. He writes in his review of :

“Wonka has a lot going for it, but the screenplay by Simon Farnaby and Paul King does admittedly drag in parts. The premise of the film’s story (Willy falling into indentured servitude and having to sell his chocolates in secret) has admirable thematic goals, conveying a story about how such pleasures are best shared and enjoyed by groups, and how Wonka learns that lesson through experience. However, the actual beats of the story begin to feel circular, and by the second act, it’s hard to gauge where the story is trying to go. When the plane ultimately gets to the hangar, the point is hammered home in a heartfelt way, yet it doesn’t feel like the journey was completed with confidence, instead salvaged in the edit bay. But a salvage job is still a salvage job in the end – and like its titular protagonist, Wonka has just enough magic to pull from some unseen corner of its hat to have fans walk away feeling like the treat was worth it.”

Some familiar titles are expected to make up the rest of this weekend’s top five films at the box office. They include The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, Godzilla Minus One, The Boy and the Heron, and Trolls Band Together. The list of the top 10 films at the box office this weekend follows.

1. Wonka

• Opening Weekend
• Total: $37 million

Armed with nothing but a hatful of dreams, young chocolatier Willy Wonka manages to change the world, one delectable bite at a time.

Paul King directed Wonka from a screenplay he co-wrote with Simon Farnaby, based on characters created by Roald Dahl. The film stars Timothée Chalamet, Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Mathew Baynton, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Jim Carter, Natasha Rothwell, Tom Davis, Olivia Colman and Hugh Grant.

2. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

• Week Five
• Weekend: $6 million
• Total: $145.4 million

Years before he becomes the tyrannical president of Panem, 18-year-old Coriolanus Snow remains the last hope for his fading lineage. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow becomes alarmed when he’s assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird from District 12. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and political savvy, they race against time to ultimately reveal who’s a songbird and who’s a snake.

Francis Lawrence directed The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes from a screenplay by Michael Lesslie and Michael Arndt, based on the 2020 novel by Suzanne Collins. It stars Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage, Jason Schwartzman, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera, and Viola Davis.

3. Godzilla Minus One

3. The Boy and the Heron

• Week Two
• Weekend: $5 million
• Total: $22.9 million
  

Mahito, a young 12-year-old boy, struggles to settle in a new town after his mother’s death. However, when a talking heron informs Mahito that his mother is still alive, he enters an abandoned tower in search of her, which takes him to another world.

Hayao Miyazaki wrote nad direct The Boy and the Heron. The Japanese voice cast includes Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Ko Shibasaki, Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura, Takuya Kimura, Kaoru Kobayashi, and Shinobu Otake. The English voice cast includes Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Hamill, Robert Pattinson and Florence Pugh.

4. Godzilla Minus One

• Week Three
• Weekend: $4.89 million
• Total: $34.1 million
  

Japan is already devastated by the war when a new crisis emerges in the form of a giant monster.

Takashi Yamazaki wrote and directed Godzilla: Minus One. It stars Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada, Munetaka Aoki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Sakura Ando, and Kuranosuke Sasaki.

5. Trolls Band Together

• Week Five
• Weekend: $4 million
• Total: $88.7 million

Poppy discovers that Branch and his four brothers were once part of her favorite boy band. When one of his siblings, Floyd, gets kidnapped by a pair of nefarious villains, Branch and Poppy embark on a harrowing and emotional journey to reunite the other brothers and rescue Floyd from a fate even worse than pop culture obscurity.

Walt Dohmco-directed Trolls World Tour, with Tim Heitz co-directing, from a screenplay by Elizabeth Tippet. The film’s voice cast includes Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Zooey Deschanel, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Icona Pop, Anderson .Paak, Ron Funches, Kenan Thompson, Kunal Nayyar, Walt Dohrn, Eric André, Kid Cudi, Daveed Diggs, Troye Sivan, Camila Cabello, Amy Schumer, Andrew Rannells, RuPaul and Zosia Mamet.

6. Wish

• Week Three
• Weekend: $3.2 million
• Total: $54.3 million
  

Young Asha makes a wish so powerful that it’s answered by a cosmic force, a little ball of boundless energy called Star. With Star’s help, Asha must save her kingdom from King Magnifico and prove that when the will of one courageous human connects with the magic of the stars, wondrous things can happen.

Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn directed Wish from a screenplay by Jennifer Lee and Allison Moore. The film’s voice cast includes Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, Alan Tudyk, Angelique Cabral, Victor Garber, Natasha Rothwell, Jennifer Kumiyama, Harvey Guillén, Evan Peters, Ramy Youssef, and Jon Rudnitsky.

7. Christmas With the Chosen: Holy Night

• Opening Weekend
• Weekend: $3 million
• Total: $4.7 million

A young mother labeled impure. A shepherd boy considered “unclean.” Experience Jesus’ birth through their eyes as Christmas With the Chosen: Holy Night blends The Messengers and The Shepherd into one special remastered and re-scored story. Plus, a never-before-seen performance from Andrea and Matteo Bocelli highlights seven musical performances and two beautiful new monologues.

Dallas Jenkins directed Christmas With the Chosen: Holy Night.

8. Napoleon

• Week Four
• Weekend: $2.2 million
• Total: $57 million
  

A look at the military commander’s origins and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine.

Ridley Scott directed Napoleon from a screenplay by David Scarpa, based on the true life story of Napoleon Bonaparte. The film stars Joaquin Phoenix and Vanessa Kirby.

9. Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé

• Week Three
• Weekend: $1.9 million
• Total: $30.7 million
  

Pop superstar Beyoncé performs hit songs in concert and discusses the creative process behind her world tour.

Beyoncé Knowles-Carter wrote and directed Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé. The film includes footage of her performing on her Renaissance tour.

10. Poor Things

• Week Two
• Weekend: $1.1 million
• Total: $2.1 million

Brought back to life by an unorthodox scientist, a young woman runs off with a lawyer on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, she grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.

Yorgos Lanthimos directed Poor Things from a screenplay by Tony McNamara, based on the 1992 novel Poor Things: Episodes from the Early Life of Archibald McCandless M.D., Scottish Public Health Officer by Alasdair Gray. It stars Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Willem Dafoe, Ramy Youssef, Christopher Abbott, and Jerrod Carmichael.