The Color Purple opened enormously on Christmas Day to take top spot at the domestic box office, trouncing its nearest competition Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom in the process. Wonka finished in third for a top-three triumph for Warner Bros. The Color Purple smashed expectations with an $18.5 million debut, almost double initial projections of $8 million to $10 million. The musical cinematic adaptation of the theatrical show, produced by Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg, stars Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks and Colman Domingo. The movie is also based off both the Alice Walker novel and the Tony-winning Broadway production.
The Color Purple is also evidence that, for the right movie, older audiences will still come out in their numbers. While it took that particular demographic longer to return to the multiplexes in a post-pandemic world, for The Color Purple they turned out big time. It was also lauded with sensational audience approval ratings, currently sitting at a 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and sky-high critical acclaim.
The movie was most popular among audiences over 55, who made up 25% of viewers and rated it highly at 97%. Directed by Blitz Bazawule, it also saw significant turnout from women over 25, who comprised 62% of the audience and gave it a 94% grade. Men over 25 represented 21% of viewers with an 86% rating, followed by women under 25 at 14% (91% rating), and finally, men under 25 were the smallest group at 4%, yet they still gave it an 89% approval rating.
Wonka continues to charm audiences worldwide. Just behind Aquaman with $10.4 million, giving it a holiday weekend haul of $28.7 million, the origin story of the Roald Dahl-created chocolatier has also exceeded the expected $26 million it was projected to earn over Christmas. This brings its domestic tally to over $85 million and ensures it has passed $250 million worldwide. With its box office success, and great word of mouth, the $125 million-budgeted film looks certain to get a sequel at this rate.