J. Kim Murphy Oompa loompa doopity doo — here is a box office opening for you. “Wonka” is off to a promising start in North America after earning $14.4 million across Friday and preview screenings.
Playing in 4,203 locations, the prequel musical drawing from the twisted Roald Dahl character is also benefiting from golden ticket prices for premium large format auditoriums like Imax.
Heading into the weekend, “Wonka” was projecting a $35 million debut. It’d be a so-so start for the Warner Bros. release, which carries a hefty $125 million production budget and devoted more funds to a month-plus marketing spree (led by star Timothée Chalamet in the first fully-fledged promotional push for a feature since the end of the SAG-AFTRA strike).
The sweeter news for “Wonka” is that it’s coming in north of recent musical offerings that have floundered in theaters, such as Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” ($10.5 million opening) and Warner’s own “In the Heights” ($11.5 million opening).
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