2023 has been one typical year, with surefire hits crashing and burning without a care while unexpected and often predicted failures lighting up the box office. The ending of this year could have ended on a similar note, if not for Warner Bros. Pictures.
Ever since 2021 confirmed the previously lofty rumors of a Wonka film with Timothée Chalamet playing the titular role, film gurus and many cinema analysis experts had been adamantly foretelling a bleak future for the prequel — a “companion piece” to the original, Gene Wilder-version in Chalamet’s opinion, predicting abysmal box office earnings for the third adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
But at the time of writing, Wonka has not only wooed the critics, but also charmed the box office. The $125 million budget musical fantasy has debuted with $39 million and its worldwide box office total currently stands at $151.4 million. At this rate, the Chalamet’s quirky chocolatier has all the chances of remaining in the top rank and probably cinching the winning position in terms of earnings as the holiday season rolls in. Right?
Uh, no. Warner Bros. Pictures has ensured that the answer isn’t that simple and Wonka doesn’t find it easy to navigate the box office pitfalls.
Why? Because the upcoming releases primed to give the film competition — as evidently Universal and Illumination’s animated feature Migration wasn’t enough — are WB titles The Color Purple and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. While the former, because of its literary overtones and theme, is going to bring in a selective crowd, the DC sequel is expected to be WB’s big hit of the year amid all the Amber Heard-Johnny Depp controversy.
Whether the Jason Momoa feature manages to hit the target at the box office or ends up tying a soaking bow on the actor’s run as Arthur Curry, the film’s upcoming release poses Wonka the risk of stealing or at least distracting its momentum at the box office. What if Wonka is only ruling the box office at the moment because there is no worthy contender in sight?
Wonka vs The Color Purple vs Aquaman 2 isn’t going to be another Barbenheimer, but this is a tussle WB could have easily avoided. But either it didn’t believe adapting the eccentric entrepreneur would win them dollars or the studio is overly confident in its belief that it can conquer the box office on all fronts.
Wonka is currently in theaters, while The Lost Kingdom drops in on Dec. 22, 2023, followed by The Color Purple on Dec. 25.
