Holiday weekends are generally great for a movie to get a headstart on earning money. While competing with the farewell to the DCEU with Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, the real winner during the Christmas weekend at the box office was The Color Purple. Beating out projections of a $13 million opening, it ended its domestic opening at $18.2 million.
The Color Purple squeezed ahead at the box office to be the best musical that opened on Christmas day. The previous record holder was Les Misérables, which opened to $18.1 million.
The Color Purple Dominated Its Christmas Opening Weekend at the Box Office, Giving Warner Bros. a Major Win
While its superhero slate has disappointed, Warner Bros. has won big with its other films like Barbie, The Color Purple, and Wonka. As pointed out by box office analysis Luiz Fernando, the remake of the Steven Spielberg film reached hefty milestones for the studio. It is in the top five best Mondays for the studio, just below The Dark Knight Rises ($19.4 million), The Dark Knight ($24.5 million), and Barbie ($26.1 million). It is the third biggest Christmas day performance for Warner Bros. It managed this by being in 700 fewer theaters than Aquaman 2 and 1,100 fewer than Wonka.
The Color Purple goes beyond milestones at the box office for Warner Bros. It is in the top 20 highest-grossing films on Christmas day. It is below Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle ($19.1 million), Meet the Fockers ($19.5 million), Aquaman ($22 million), Avatar ($23.1 million), Sherlock Holmes ($24.6 million), Rogue One ($25.9 million), The Last Jedi ($27.5 million), Avatar: The Way of Water ($29.2 million), Spider-Man: No Way Home ($31.6 million), The Rise of Skywalker ($32.2 million), and The Force Awakens ($49.3 million).
The modernization of the Spielberg film was directed by Blitz Bazawule (Black Is King) and written by Marcus Gardley (The Chi). It stars Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Colman Domingo, Danielle Brooks, Corey Hawkins, and Halle Bailey.
