Wonka Wins 2024’s First Box Office Weekend

Wonka will take the top spot on the chart to win 2024’s first box office weekend. Wonka will take in earning $14.4 million to claim its third first-place finish in the past four weeks. It beats Blumhouse’s new horror flick, Night Swim, opening with $12 million and a second-place finish. DCEU finale Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will eek out a third-place position over Illumination’s animated Migration. Anyone But You will round out this weekend’s top five films. Wonka‘s running box office total will rise to $165.7 million. Wonka, a prequel to Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, has received a largely positive reception from critics. In ComicBook.com’s Wonka review, Kofi Outlaw awarded the film a score of 4 out of 5 stars. He writes:

“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.”

Outlaw gave a less positive review in his 2-out-of-5-stars review of Night Swim. He writes, “Night Swim is proof that creating a horror concept is far simpler than creating an entire horror story – and certainly a feature-length horror film to convey that story. Bryce McGuire shows promise as a filmmaker but needs to do a few more laps before he’s an able swimmer.”

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which marks the end of the DC Extended Universe, has received a poor critical reception. In ComicBook.com’s , Jenna Anderson awarded the film 3 out of 5 stars. She writes:

“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is perfectly fine, whether as a showcase of some of its titular character’s weirdest lore, the finale to one of the most controversial film franchises in modern history, or an entertaining-enough superhero movie in a landscape that no longer has to rely solely on them. While the film certainly doesn’t manage to break new ground, an argument can be made that it doesn’t necessarily need to — it’s just a pleasant, largely entertaining time with a character whose big-screen portrayal was one of the DCEU’s rare successes. Thanks to its free-wheeling attitude and committed ensemble cast, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom closes a cinematic chapter in a silly, but satisfying-enough way.”

These films are all playing now in theaters. The full list of the top 10 films at the box office this weekend follows.

1. Wonka

• Week Four
• Weekend: $14.4 million
• Total: $165.7 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. Night Swim

• Opening Weekend
• Total: $12 million

Forced into early retirement by a degenerative illness, former baseball player Ray Waller moves into a new house with his wife and two children. He hopes that the backyard swimming pool will be fun for the kids and provide physical therapy for himself. However, a dark secret from the home’s past soon unleashes a malevolent force that drags the family into the depths of inescapable terror.

Bryce McGuire wrote and directed Night Swim, expanded on the 2014 short film of the same name he created with Rod Blackhurst. It stars Wyatt Russell and Kerry Condon.

3. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

• Week Three
• Weekend: $10.6 million
• Total: $100 million

In Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which arrived in theaters on December 22nd, when an ancient power is unleashed, Aquaman must forge an uneasy alliance with an unlikely ally to protect Atlantis, and the world, from irreversible devastation. Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom will see the return of Jason Momoa as Aquaman, Patrick Wilson as Orm, Amber Heard as Mera, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Manta, and Randall Park as Stephen Shin. Jani Zhao will play new character Stingray, Indya Moore will play Karshon, and Vincent Regan will play Atlan, who was previously portrayed by Graham McTavish in Aquaman.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom is directed by James Wan, with a script from David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick. Producers include Wan and DC Studios co-CEO Peter Safran.

4. Migration

• Week Three
• Weekend: $10.25 million
• Total: $77.8 million

A family of ducks decides to leave the safety of a New England pond for an adventurous trip to Jamaica. However, their well-laid plans quickly go awry when they get lost and wind up in New York City. The experience soon inspires them to expand their horizons, open themselves up to new friends, and accomplish more than they ever thought possible.

Benjamin Renner directed Migration, with co-director Homsy, from a screenplay written by Mike White. The film’s voice cast includes Kumail Nanjiani, Elizabeth Banks, Keegan-Michael Key, Awkwafina, and Danny DeVito.

5. Anyone But You

• Week Three
• Weekend: $9.5 million
• Total: $43.7 million

Despite an amazing first date, Bea and Ben’s initial attraction quickly turns sour. However, when they unexpectedly find themselves at a destination wedding in Australia, they pretend to be the perfect couple to keep up appearances.

Will Gluck directed Anyone but You from a screenplay he co-wrote with Ilana Wolpert, adapting and modernizing the William Shakespeare play Much Ado About Nothing. Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell star in the film.

6. The Boys in the Boat

• Week Two
• Weekend: $6.02 million
• Total: $33.8 million
  

During the height of the Great Depression, members of the rowing team at the University of Washington get thrust into the spotlight as they compete for gold at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

George Clooney directed The Boys in the Boat from a screenplay written by Mark L. Smith, based on the 2013 book by Daniel James Brown. The film stars Callum Turner and Joel Edgerton.

7. The Color Purple

• Week Two
• Weekend: $4.77 million
• Total: $54.6 million
  

Torn apart from her sister and her children, Celie faces many hardships in life, including an abusive husband. With support from a sultry singer named Shug Avery, as well as her stand-her-ground stepdaughter, Celie ultimately finds extraordinary strength in the unbreakable bonds of a new kind of sisterhood.

Blitz Bazawule directed The Color Purple from a screenplay by Marcus Gardley. The film is based on the musical of the same name, itself an adaptation of the 1982 novel by Alice Walker. It stars Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Halle Bailey, Louis Gossett Jr., Phylicia Pearl Mpasi, Ciara, Jon Batiste, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, and Fantasia Barrino.

8. The Iron Claw

• Week Three
• Weekend: $4.1 million
• Total: $23.9 million

The true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who make history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s. Through tragedy and triumph, under the shadow of their domineering father and coach, the brothers seek larger-than-life immortality on the biggest stage in sports.

Sean Durkin directed The Iron Claw. It stars Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, Harris Dickinson, Maura Tierney, Holt McCallany, and Lily James.

9. Ferrari

• Week Two
• Weekend: $2.5 million
• Total: $16 million

During the summer of 1957, bankruptcy looms over the company that Enzo Ferrari and his wife built 10 years earlier. He decides to roll the dice and wager it all on the iconic Mille Miglia, a treacherous 1,000-mile race across Italy.

Michael Mann directed Ferrari from a screenplay written by Troy Kennedy Martin, based on the 1991 book Enzo Ferrari: The Man, the Cars, the Races, the Machine by Brock Yates. The film stars Adam Driver, Penélope Cruz, Shailene Woodley, Sarah Gadon, Gabriel Leone, Jack O’Connell, and Patrick Dempsey.

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

• Week Eight
• Weekend: $1.84 million
• Total: $163.8 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.