1 at the box office, strong sales for “The Color Purple” and an overall $9 billion in ticket sales that improved on 2022’s grosses but fell about $2 billion shy of pre-pandemic norms. The top choice, though, remained “Wonka,” Paul King’s musical starring Timothée Chalamet as a young Willy Wonka. Weekend sales only tell part of the story this time of year. The animated movie from “Minions”-maker Illumination notched $17.2 million in 3,839 theaters in its second weekend, and $59.4 million since opening. 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.

Source: The Nation December 31, 2023 20:36 UTC