“Wonka” opened with $39 million this weekend to lead all films in North America, according to industry estimates released Sunday.
A prequel of sorts to the classic 1971 film “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory,” which was based on Roald Dahl’s 1964 children’s novel, “Wonka” stars Timothée Chalamet in the title role. It easily topped “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,” which grossed $5.4 million in its fifth weekend in theaters, Comscore reported.
Third place went to “The Boy and the Heron,” which grossed $5.1 million Friday through Sunday, one week after opening in first place.
“Godzilla Minus One” was fourth with $4.8 million in its third week, followed by “Trolls Band Together” with $4 million in its fifth weekend.
Rounding out the top 10 domestic releases were “Wish” ($3.2 million), “Christmas With the Chosen: Holy Night” ($2.9 million), “Napoleon” ($2.2 million), “Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé” ($2 million) and “Poor Things” ($1.2 million).
This weekend’s overall three-day box office haul was estimated at $77.8 million. The year-to-date total is $8.583 billion — an increase of 22% over the figure at this time last year, according to Comscore.
