Warner Bros.’ “Wonka” enjoyed a barnstorming second weekend at the UK and Irish box offices with £6.3 million ($8.09 million), according to figures released by Comscore.
After two weekends at the top, the Timothée Chalamet starrer now has a massive total of £18.4 million. In doing so, the film has fended off the challenge of Anime Ltd’s “Godzilla Minus One”, which debuted in second place with £816,891. This was enough to make Godzilla Minus One the highest grossing Japanese live action film in UK and Irish box office history.
In third place, in its fifth weekend, Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes” took £612,656 for a total of £15.8 million.
In fourth place, in its fourth weekend, Disney’s “Wish” took £587,619 for a total of £6.6 million. Rounding out the top five was Sony’s “Napoleon” with £499,388 in its fourth weekend for a total of £12.4 million.
Warner Bros.’ “Saltburn” continued to show strong legs in sixth place with £302,326 in its fifth weekend for a total of £4.7 million.
Bollywood epic “Animal”, starring Ranbir Kapoor, has crossed the £2 million mark with £181,960 in its third weekend at number eight.
Next weekend sees the wide release of “Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom” as Warner Bros. opens in over 300 locations.
There are also two big releases from India this weekend. It has been the year of Shah Rukh Khan in India, with him starring in the country’s two biggest hits of 2023 – ‘Jawan’ and ‘Pathaan’. His third release of the year is the immigration drama “Dunki”, distributed internationally by Yash Raj Films, from hitmaker Rajkumar Hirani (“3 Idiots”, “Sanju”), due out on 21 December. “Baahubali” star Prabhas stars in “Salaar: Cease Fire – Part 1” from K.G.F. franchise helmer Prashanth Neel, distributed by DreamZ Entertainment U.K. The film opens on 22 December.
Curzon opens the comedy-drama “Sweet Sue” on 22 December.
There are a number of releases on Boxing Day. Sony is opening “Anyone But You”, starring Sydney Sweeney, Glen Powell, Alexandra Shipp, GaTa, Hadley Robinson, Michelle Hurd, Dermot Mulroney, Darren Barnet and Rachel Griffiths, in more than 300 locations. Disney is giving a similarly wide release to Taika Waititi’s Next Goal Wins, starring Michael Fassbender, Oscar Kightley, Kaimana, Will Arnett and Elisabeth Moss.
Black Bear will release Michael Mann’s highly anticipated Ferrari, starring Adam Driver. Fans of Hayao Miyazaki will enjoy his latest film, The Boy and the Heron, from Elysian Film Group Distribution. Also on the 26th is more family-friendly fare in the form of “Cats In The Museum” from Miracle/Dazzler.
The following Friday, Dec. 29, Modern Films opens with SXSW and Neuchâtel winner “Raging Grace,” Signature Entertainment’s sci-fi comedy-drama “Jules,” starring Ben Kingsley, and Sovereign Cannes title “Tchaikovsky’s Wife” from Kirill Serebrennikov.
