NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Hollywood closed out an up and down 2023 with regaining No. 1 at the box office, strong sales for 鈥淭he Color Purple鈥� and an overall $9 billion in ticket sales that improved on 2022鈥檚 grosses but fell about $2 billion shy of pre-pandemic norms.
The New Year鈥檚 weekend box office this year lacked a true blockbuster. (This time last year, 鈥淎vatar: The Way of Water鈥� was inundating theaters.) Instead, a wide array of films 鈥� among them 鈥淎quaman and the Lost Kingdom,鈥� 鈥淭he Boys in the Boat,鈥� 鈥淢igration,鈥� 鈥淔errari,鈥� 鈥淭he Iron Claw鈥� and 鈥淎nyone But You鈥� 鈥� sought to break out over the year鈥檚 most lucrative box-office corridor.
The top choice, though, Paul King鈥檚 musical starring Timoth茅e Chalamet as a young Willy Wonka. In its third weekend, the Warner Bros. release collected an estimated $24 million Friday through Sunday and $31.8 million factoring in estimates for the Monday holiday. That brings the film鈥檚 domestical total to $142.5 million.
That bested Warner Bros.鈥� own which, like previous DC superhero films, is struggling. James Wan鈥檚 鈥淎quaman鈥� sequel starring Jason Momoa took in $19.5 million in its second weekend to bring its two-week haul to a modest $84.7 million including New Year鈥檚 Day estimates.
The original 鈥淎quaman,鈥� which ultimately surpassed $1.1 billion worldwide, had grossed $215.4 million over a similar period in 2018 鈥� more than double that of the sequel. Internationally, 鈥淎quaman and the Lost Kingdom鈥� added $50.5 million.
Weekend sales only tell part of the story this time of year. From Christmas through New Year鈥檚, when kids are out of school and many adults aren鈥檛 working, every day is like Saturday to film distributors.
鈥淭he Color Purple,鈥� from Alice Walker's novel, debuted on Monday and led all movies on Christmas with $18 million. Through the week, the Warner Bros. release has grossed $50 million, including $13 million Friday through Sunday. That鈥檚 a strong start for the crowd-pleaser starring Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson and Danielle Brooks. Audiences gave it an 鈥淎鈥� CinemaScore.
The roughly $100 million production, which boasts Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg and Quincy Jones (all from the 1985 film) as producers, should play well through awards season. It's nominated for several Golden Globes and expected to be in the Oscar mix.
鈥淲e saw this opportunity to go wide at Christmas since there were so few movies and we were confident the movie would be well received,鈥� said Jeffrey Goldstein, distribution chief for Warner Bros. 鈥淕oing into the competitive landscape that's so thin in January and February, the excitement of awards season could really help ignite a bigger box office.鈥�
Despite a blockbuster-less holiday frame, the last weekend of the year pushed the industry past $9 billion in box office for the year in U.S. and Canadian theaters for the first time since before the pandemic. Ticket sales on the year were up 21% from 2022, according to data firm Comscore.
Still, it was a mark that seemed more easily within reach during when both 鈥淏arbie鈥� and 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� were breaking box-office records.
The enormous success of those two films changed the trajectory of Hollywood鈥檚 2023, but so did the . Those forced the postponement of some top films (most notably ), diminishing an already patchwork fall lineup with few guaranteed ticket-sellers. One exception was the last-minute addition of which set a new record for concert films.
This year, Hollywood needed Swift and every penny to reach $9 billion. It crossed that threshold Saturday, with one day to spare. That total, though, still doesn't come close to the $11 billion-plus years that preceded the pandemic. The number of wide releases in 2023 came about 20 films shy of those released in 2019.
The production delays caused by the strikes could have an even greater impact on 2024. Several top releases have already been postponed until at least the following year, including 鈥淢ission: Impossible鈥� and 鈥淪pider-Verse鈥� sequels. After a rocky year for Marvel and a string of less predictable hits, Hollywood will have to 鈥� and that another 鈥淏arbie鈥� is lurking somewhere.
"It's an $11 billion business. We're climbing our way back," said Goldstein. 鈥淭his next year is going to be a big challenge because of the strikes. But we're seeing very clearly in 2023, when there are movies out there that people want to see, they come.鈥�
Meanwhile, a host of releases sought to capitalize over the holidays 鈥� and most succeeded.
鈥淭his crop of seven wide releases at the end of the year, they got us over the hump of $9 billion,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for data firm Comscore. 鈥淭his final push of the year provided great insight into what audiences are looking for. It's movies big and small. It's different types of movies."
Though 鈥淲辞苍办补鈥� won out as the family movie choice for the holidays, Universal Pictures鈥� is attracting young audiences, too. The animated movie from 鈥淢inions鈥�-maker Illumination notched $17.2 million in 3,839 theaters in its second weekend, and $59.4 million since opening.
the George Clooney-directed sports drama, grossed $24.6 million since opening Dec. 25. The Amazon MGM Studios release, about the U.S. men鈥檚 crew in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, wasn鈥檛 a smash with critics (58% 鈥渇resh鈥� on Rotten Tomatoes) but audiences gave it an 鈥淎鈥� CinemaScore. 鈥淭he Boys in the Boat,鈥� which cost about $40 million to make, could hold well in coming weeks.
Though romantic comedies have largely migrated to streaming platforms, Sony Pictures' 鈥淎nyone But You鈥� is proving the genre can still work in theaters. The film, starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell, collected $9 million in its second weekend to bring its total to $27.6 million through Monday.
Sean Durkin's wrestling drama is also performing well. The A24 film, starring Zac Efron, Holt McCallany and Jeremy Allen White, has grossed $18 million since opening Dec. 22, including $5 million on the three-day weekend. The film dramatizes the tragic story of the Von Erich family.
a project the director sought to make for three decades, took in $10.9 million since launching in theaters on Monday, including $4.1 million for the weekend. While that ranks as one of the biggest debuts for indie distributor Neon, it's nowhere near what a movie that cost close to $100 million to make needs to turn a profit.
The film, starring Adam Driver as Enzo Ferrari, has been celebrated by critics, but appears likely to follow Mann's previous film, 2015's 鈥淏lackhat鈥� ($19.6 million worldwide against a $70 million budget), as a commercial disappointment.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淲onka,鈥� $24 million.
2. 鈥淎quaman and the Lost Kingdom,鈥� $19.5 million.
3. 鈥淢igration,鈥� $17.2 million.
4. 鈥淭he Color Purple,鈥� $13 million.
5. 鈥淎nyone But You,鈥� $9 million.
6. 鈥淭he Boys in the Boat,鈥� $8.3 million.
7. 鈥淭he Iron Claw,鈥� $5 million.
8. 鈥淔errari,鈥� $4.1 million.
9. 鈥淭he Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes,鈥� $2.9 million.
10. 鈥淭he Boy and the Heron,鈥� $2.5 million.
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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle at: http://jakecoyleAP
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
