Wonka Gets Surprisingly Sweet CinemaScore

Wonka scored a surprisingly sweet CinemaScore on opening weekend. As the Timothee Chalamet movie takes viewers on a magical tour of the chocolatier's early years, the audience seems to be charmed by his performance. The CinemaScore for Wonka sits at an A- minus. These kinds of big budget films have had some trouble cracking the A-ranks on the polling platform for a lot of this year. This comes down to a number of factors including economic climate and the samples size. But, there's more than "Fun Size" enjoyment to be had from Wonka.

So far, Wonka has managed about $14 million on opening day and a little over $3 million in previews. That takes the estimates for Chalamet's new movie to about $38 million. A nice little start as the Holiday Season rolls onward. This weekend, Wonka will win the box office most-likely. But, Aquaman 2 looms in the distance to give the candy man a credible challenge. For now, everything's coming up golden for Chalamet and this charming little movie. Wonka might also function as a springboard for Dune: Part 2 when that premieres next year.

#WonkaMovie scorned an A- tonight! Congratulations to all of the cast & crew members. Please let us know your thoughts in the comments below! #cinemascore @WonkaMovie @wbpictures @TChalamet pic.twitter.com/nqPUzXjzh5

— CinemaScore (@CinemaScore) December 16, 2023

How Good Is Wonka?

ComicBook.com's review of Wonka praises the heart at the core of this film. While emotionally, the beats land, there is some strangers to the final cut that makes the movie feel a bit disjointed. However Timothée Chalamet's performance perfectly straddles the line between his predecessors.

"Chalamet is one of the only choices for an actor that fans would even consider worthy of following in the footsteps of Wilder and Depp – and with good reason. He's shown that he has character-acting chops to go with his star charisma across a variety of genres," our review reads "With that said, the first good thing to report about Wonka is that Timothée Chalamet does the job of making the character his own, in ways that his predecessors never could."

"There's much of the film that works simply because Chalamet is both captivating to watch, and endearing as this more fleshed-out version of the Willy Wonka character," the review continued. "He captures elements of both Wilder's whimsy and Depp's weirdness and rolls them into something entirely fresh and new. It's a role that Chalamet could arguably return to again – much like Depp with his Captain Jack Sparrow." 

What's The Plot Of Wonka?

Based on the extraordinary character at the center of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl's most iconic children's book and one of the best-selling children's books of all time, Wonka tells the wondrous story of how the world's greatest inventor, magician and chocolate-maker became the beloved Willy Wonka we know today.

From Paul King, writer/director of the "Paddington" films, David Heyman, producer of "Harry Potter," "Gravity," "Fantastic Beasts" and "Paddington," and producers Alexandra Derbyshire (the "Paddington" films, "Jurassic World: Dominion") and Luke Kelly ("Roald Dahl's The Witches"), comes an intoxicating mix of magic and music, mayhem and emotion, all told with fabulous heart and humor. Starring Timothée Chalamet in the title role, this irresistibly vivid and inventive big screen spectacle will introduce audiences to a young Willy Wonka, chock-full of ideas and determined to change the world one delectable bite at a time—proving that the best things in life begin with a dream, and if you're lucky enough to meet Willy Wonka, anything is possible.

Will you be seeing Wonka this weekend? Let us know down in the comments!