Hollywood caps off 2023 with $9 billion in ticket sales

LOS ANGELES – Hollywood capped off 2023 with an overall $9.037 billion in ticket sales – 21 percent higher than 2022’s grosses but $2 billion less than pre-pandemic numbers.

Before the year ended, “Wonka” – Paul King’s musical starring Timothée Chalamet as a young Willy Wonka – regained its No. 1 spot.

Hollywood caps off 2023 with $9 billion in ticket sales. Before the year ended, “Wonka” – Paul King’s musical starring Timothée Chalamet as a young Willy Wonka – regained its No. 1 spot. Image: wonkamovie/IG

In its third weekend, the Warner Bros. release collected $23.9 million Friday through Sunday at theaters in the US and Canada, according to industry estimates released yesterday.

It was another good weekend for Warner Bros., which took three of the top four slots at this weekend’s box office.

“Wonka” was followed by “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” which pulled in $19.5 million, one week after opening in first place, Comscore reported.

“Migration” took in $17.2 million in its second weekend to again finish third.

In addition to the two top-grossing films of the last couple of weeks – a prequel and a sequel – Warner Bros. also had the fourth-highest grossing picture, a  re-imagined version of “The Color Purple,” which opened with $13 million over the weekend.

Sony’s “Anyone But You” was fifth with $9 million in its second week. Rounding out the top 10 domestic releases were “The Boys in the Boat” ($8.3 million), “The Iron Claw” ($5 million), “Ferarri” ($4.1 million), “Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” ($2.9 million) and “The Boy and the Heron” ($2.5 million).

This weekend’s overall three-day box office haul was estimated at $117 million. The year-to-date total is $9.037 billion – an increase of 21% over the figure at this time last year, according to Comscore. (with CNS report)