Timothee Chalamet’s film Willy Wonka banks $14.4M on opening day amid predictions it will gross $38M its first weekend. Timothee Chalamet’s latest movie, Wonka, in which he plays Roald Dahl’s beloved chocolate factory impresario, has opened to an encouraging reception. Wonka debuted on Friday and earned $14.4 million in a single day, leading The Hollywood Reporter to project a $38 million gross for its first weekend.
In a sign of Timothee’s idol status amongst young viewers, 33 percent of the audience was from 18 to 24 – and a whopping 60 percent were from 18 to 34.
Meanwhile 54 percent of the audience was female, and 10 percent were underage teenagers, which is to say 13 to 17 years old.
The trade publication noted that, in an era when Hollywood musicals have been floundering, the Wonka numbers are a glimpse of hope for the genre.
Timothee Chalamet ‘s latest movie Wonka, in which he plays Roald Dahl ‘s beloved chocolate factory impresario, has opened to a encouraging reception
Wonka debuted on Friday and earned $14.4 million, leading The Hollywood Reporter to project a $38 million gross for its first weekend
Timothee Chalamet dons chic attire while out promoting Wonka
Viewers of the picture he reacted positively enough to give Wonka an A- CinemaScore and a 90% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The critics were slightly less effusive in their reaction, but their reviews were warm enough that Wonka enjoys an 80% Tomatometer score.
Roald Dahl created the character of Willy Wonka for his beloved 1964 novel Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, which has now been controversially bowdlerized in a new edition to appeal to a woke readership.
His book has been filmed repeatedly, first in the 1971 movie Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory with an iconic turn by Gene Wilder as the chocolatier.
Tim Burton then adapted the book in 2005, with Johnny Depp giving an eerie Willy Wonka performance that was widely compared to Michael Jackson, who one month before the film’s release had been acquitted of molesting a 13-year-old boy.
A report in TMZ noted that as far as the box office is concerned, Timothee’s film is still fairly far behind Johnny’s, which made approximately $20 million on its opening day and netted about $50 million by the end of its first weekend.
Timothee’s new movie is set years before the events of Dahl’s book, relating the story of how Willy Wonka came to establish his chocolate factory.
Amid the theatrical run of his new film, Timothee is awaiting the release of his upcoming epic Dune: Part Two, directed by Denis Villeneuve.
The movie was originally supposed to come out this year on October 20, but on account of various delays it is now slated for release next March.
His book has been filmed repeatedly, first in the 1971 movie Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory with a beloved turn by Gene Wilder as the chocolatier.
Tim Burton then adapted the book in 2005, with Johnny Depp giving an eerie Willy Wonka performance that was widely compared to Michael Jackson
Timothee Chalamet rocks the red carpet at the Wonka premiere
A couple of postponements were enacted in order to work around the release dates of other movies, and the final delay came because of the Hollywood strikes.
Now, with the strikes over, the next Dune movie is slated to bow in theaters on March 1 – and a new trailer dropped this week to keep the fans on tenterhooks.
Timothee is also currently preparing to star in a biopic of Bob Dylan, focusing on his explosively controversial decision to go electric in 1965.
In a recent interview with GQ, he revealed that he has been readying himself for the biopic with help from the team who coached Austin Butler for Elvis.
‘I’ve basically been working with his entire Elvis team for my Dylan prep,’ the Lady Bird actor dished. ‘There’s a wonderful dialect coach named Tim Monich. Vocal coach named Erich Vetro. Movement coach named Polly Bennett.’
In a tip of the hat to Austin’s performance as Elvis, he added: ‘I just saw the way he committed to it all – and realized I needed to step it up.’
Austin reached new heights of stardom last year with his Oscar-nominated turn in Baz Lurhmann’s biopic of Elvis Presley.
He then traveled to Europe to co-star with Timothee in Dune: Part Two – and, while doing so, left Timothee deeply impressed with his acting chops.