The Color Purple's Box Office Is A Most Welcome Christmas Gift
The winter holiday season can be a lucrative one at the box office, but this year's was on uncertain ground. 2021 brought us "Spider-Man: No Way Home" and 2022 brought us "Avatar: The Way of Water," both of which now rank amongst the highest-grossing movies in history. 2023 has no such clear-cut smash hit, with "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" ultimately disappointing in its opening frame. Luckily, another Warner Bros. movie has emerged to provide the Christmas box office with a much-needed jolt: "The Color Purple."
Directed by Blitz Bazawule ("Black Is King," "The Burial of Kojo") and produced by Oprah Winfrey, the musical adaptation of the classic book of the same name lit up the charts on Christmas Day, taking in a massive $18.1 million, per The Numbers. That made it easily the number one movie of the holiday ahead of "The Lost Kingdom" ($10.6 million) and "Wonka" ($10.3 million). Interestingly, all three of these are Warner Bros. releases (with "Wonka," like "The Color Purple," being a musical that's found a bigger-than-expected audience, having crossed the $250 million mark globally over the weekend).
Circling back to the movie at hand, "The Color Purple" obliterated expectations heading into its opening day. For context, the film had been expected to make somewhere in the neighborhood of $8 million on opening day, which still would have been a fine start. The fact that it more than doubled that number is a very, very good sign of what's to come.
To make matters even better, audiences gave the film an A CinemaScore. Couple that with the generally very positive word from critics and this figures to be a film capable of legging it out through awards season into February.
Musicals to the rescue
Not to be lost in the conversation; Michael Mann's "Ferarri" biopic ($2.8 million) and George Clooney's "The Boys in the Boat" ($5.7 million) also opened on Christmas, with Illumination's "Migration" and A24's "The Iron Claw" in the mix as well. Even with a $100 million budget, "The Color Purple" is looking like a wise investment in the early going.
Then again, maybe it's not so surprising. After all, the film was based on both the novel and its Broadway musical adaptation, the former of which was previously adapted for the screen by Steven Spielberg (who also produced the "Color Purple" movie musical). Spielberg's non-musical adaptation was a huge hit in 1985, grossing $94 million domestically against a $15 million budget. This new version further boasts an impressive ensemble that includes Taraji P. Henson ("Hidden Figures"), Danielle Brooks ("Peacemaker"), Colman Domingo ("Fear the Walking Dead"), Corey Hawkins ("In the Heights"), H.E.R. ("Judas and the Black Messiah"), Halle Bailey ("The Little Mermaid"), Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor ("King Richard"), and Fantasia Barrino in her major motion picture debut.
Warner Bros. is certainly doing its part to help keep movie theaters afloat during an uncertain period, with three films playing in theaters right now. Amazingly, it's the musicals and not the big superhero movie starring Jason Momoa that are overperforming. Musicals are a tough prospect in modern times ("La La Land" is more the exception than the rule). Spielberg's "West Side Story" ($76 million box office/$100 million budget) and "Cyrano" ($6 million box office/$30 million budget) are more likely outcomes.
Be that as it may, Warner Bros. currently finds itself on the right side of the equation here. If this one can go the distance and also rack up some Oscar nominations, it could become the unexpected savior of the winter movie season. Amazingly enough, it's musicals to the rescue.
"The Color Purple" is currently playing in theaters.