The Holiday Box Office Was Damn Good to The Color Purple, but Not So Much for Aquaman

Even if most cities didn’t have a white Christmas this year, it was a green Christmas at the box office this year. With three major releases all slated on Christmas day—that’s The Color Purple, Ferrari, and The Boys In The Boat—families were keen to leave eggnog and wrapping paper behind to watch Adam Driver drive (ha) and Callum Turner row. All in all, the box office’s four-day total was up 11% from this time last year, despite a massive 2022 showing by Avatar: The Way Of Water drowning out this year’s equally water-based winner (via Deadline).

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While Synderverse closer Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom clocked in as this year’s number one film, its $40 million haul is still a pretty skimpy catch. At a reported budget of $205 million, this is yet another disappointing performance from a DC tentpole.

Jason Momoa’s aquatic adventure was followed by a sweet serenade from Timothée Chalamet’s Wonka, which brought in a total of $28 million. Third place goes to family-friendly animated flick Migration, which flew in at $17.5 million, followed by Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell’s steamy Anyone But You at $8 million, and a stalwart The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes at $7.2 million, a full 7% rise from last week’s totals.

Spots six through ten are led by Telugu-language epic Salaar at $6.3 million and A24's The Iron Claw at $4.9 million. The wrestling romp is followed by The Boy And The Heron with $3.9 million, Poor Things with $3 million, and Godzilla Minus One with $2.7 million.

As for the three new films, The Color Purple sang with an estimated $18.1 million on just its opening day. Preview screenings for The Boys In The Boat and Ferrari brought in an estimated $5.7 million and $2.9 million respectively (via Deadline). As official numbers from these studios haven’t come in yet, they are not included in the top 10.

Here’s the top 10 again from Box Office Mojo:

1. Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom

2. Wonka

3. Migration

4. Anyone But You

5. The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

6. Salaar

7. The Iron Claw

8. The Boy And The Heron

9. Poor Things

10. Godzilla Minus One

Emma Keates writes for the A.V. Club, which like the Root, is owned by G/O Media