Before we delve into discussing the past weekend, a brief summary of the 2023 performance in American cinemas. Over the last 12 months, viewers contributed a total of $9 billion at the box office. This result is 20% better than the 2022 box office, yet 21% lower than the pre-pandemic 2019. The most popular movies in the USA were “Barbie” ($636 million) and “Super Mario Bros. Film” ($575 million). Among all Hollywood studios, Universal boasted the highest earnings ($1.93 billion).
A Sweet Weekend for “Wonka” Producers
The New Year’s weekend belonged to Warner Bros. films, securing the first, second, and fourth positions at the box office. At the top of the list was “Wonka,” generating close to $24 million. Compared to the previous week, the musical starring Timothee Chalamet experienced a 33% surge in popularity. Analysts predict the final revenue of the movie in the USA to reach $200 million. This result would be similar to the previous Willy Wonka adventure production, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” from 2005 (excluding inflation, of course).
Producers of the comic spectacle “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” have less reason to celebrate. After two weeks since its premiere, the James Wan film, costing over $200 million, has yet to surpass the $100 million revenue mark. The earnings from the past weekend amounted to $19.5 million.
The lowest spot on the podium went to the Illumination animation titled “Wyfrunięci” (translated to “Flown Out”). Over the last three days, the movie accumulated $17.2 million. The total earnings in the USA and Canada for this film amount to $59.3 million. Everything indicates that this will be one of the less lucrative productions for the company that has previously released hits like “Minions,” “The Secret Life of Pets,” and “Super Mario Bros.”
USA Box Office: December 29th-31st
The only premiere that stands a real chance of competing for the wallets of American audiences in the coming weekend is the horror film “Przeklęta woda” (translated to “Cursed Water”).
