‘Aquaman,’ ‘Color Purple’ notch notable weekends at N. American box office

Peter Safran, co-chairman and CEO, DC Studios, speaks onstage, promoting the film “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” for the Warner Bros. Pictures Studio Presentation during CinemaCon 2023, the official convention of the National Association of Theatre Owners, at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on April 25, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” splashed to the top of the three-day Christmas weekend box office despite muted ticket sales for the DC Extended Universe offering, industry watchers reported Tuesday, Dec. 26. ETHAN MILLER / Getty Images via AFP

LOS ANGELES—“Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” starring Jason Momoa as a sea-dwelling superhero, splashed to the top of the three-day Christmas weekend box office despite muted ticket sales for the DC Extended Universe offering, industry watchers reported Tuesday, Dec. 26.

The film took in $38.3 million in its debut weekend in the United States and Canada for the Friday-through-Monday period, according to Exhibitor Relations.

The DC comics sequel follows the king of Atlantis as he splits his time between the depths of the sea and the surface world, combining forces with his half-brother and former enemy as turmoil and climate change threatens the underwater realm.

Warner Bros.’ fantasy musical “Wonka,” starring Timothee Chalamet as a younger version of Roald Dahl’s famous chocolatier Willy Wonka—a character first played by Gene Wilder and then Johnny Depp–placed second for $28.4 million.

The new musical version of “The Color Purple,” which only debuted on Christmas Monday, meanwhile, landed in third with $18.2 million in sales—the biggest Christmas Day opening since “Sherlock Holmes” in 2009.

The new reimagining is based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker that then became a beloved movie before landing on Broadway as a musical. It follows the struggles and triumphs of a young Black woman in rural Georgia in the early 20th century.

The movie rounds out Warner Bros.’ standing in the top three spots and stars Taraji P. Henson, Fantasia Barrino-Taylor, Danielle Brooks, H.E.R. and Colman Domingo, among others.

In fourth was animated comedy “Migration” about a family of mallard ducks out on adventure as they fly from New England to Jamaica, which earned $17.5 million in its debut weekend.

And rom-com “Anyone but You” debuted in fifth with $8.1 million.

Rounding out the top 10 this holiday weekend were:

“The Iron Claw” ($6.8 million)

“Salaar Part 1 – Ceasefire” ($6.7 million)

“The Boys in the Boat” ($5.7 million) (Monday/Christmas Day debut)

“Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes ($4.1 million)

“Dunki” ($3.7 million)