“The Color Purple,” the musical adaptation of the Alice Walker novel shot largely in Georgia, pulled in the second biggest Christmas Day haul in box-office history with $18 million.
The record-holder for biggest Christmas Day take was “Sherlock Holmes” with $24.6 million in 2009. That figure is not adjusted for inflation.
“The Color Purple” received solid reviews from critics with 89% positive ratings and an even better 94% positive rating from filmgoers on Rotten Tomatoes. CinemaScore, a firm which interviews first-day attendees, said “The Color Purple” received a solid A grade, boding well for the movie’s long-term future.
With a budget of about $100 million before marketing costs, the film needs to generate at least $200 million in worldwide box office gross to make back that money since half of monies go to movie theaters.
Oscar buzz is already afoot for the film’s primary stars Danielle Brooks and Fantasia Barrino.
“The Color Purple” handily beat two other films that opened on Christmas Day and are based on real-life historical events.
George Clooney-produced “The Boys in the Boat” about the University of Washington rowing team’s journey to winning a gold medal at the Berlin Olympics in 1936 earned $5.7 million, which was considered a good opening for this type of adult drama. It also received an A CinemaScore.
Michael Mann’s “Ferrari” starring Adam Driver only took in $2.9 million and a B CinemaScore. In that movie, Enzo Ferrari (Driver), reeling from the death of his son Dino, the deteriorating marriage with his wife Laura and his company’s impending bankruptcy, enters his racing team in the 1957 Mille Miglia.
There was also more evidence of superhero fatigue at the box office: “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” grossed $10.6 million and $38.3 million over four days domestically but that is one of the weakest openings for a DC comic franchise film. Other superhero disappointments in 2023 include “The Marvels,” “Blue Beetle,” “Shazam! Fury of the Gods” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.”
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