The winner of this New Year’s box office battle has officially been crowned
The battle lines were drawn - but which blockbuster came out on top?
The New Year's box office war is always a hard fought battle - and this year is no exception.
With Hollywood hopefuls dropping left, right and centre before landing on streaming platforms, the 2024 winner has now been crowned.
Yes, Wonka has officially won the battle at the box office.
Clawing in $386.9 million worldwide since its release in December 2023, the family favourite made a decent profit given the film's $125 million original budget, Variety reports.
Starring Timothée Chalamet as a young Wily Wonka, the release also stars Hugh Grant, Sally Hawkins, Matt Lucas, and Keegan Michael-Key.
An adaptation of Roald Dahl classic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the film left rivals Aquaman and The Color Purple in its wake.
Over the course of the New Year, leading rivals appeared to fall behind at the box office.
Battling it out against Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom - a film which was widely panned by the critics and has continued to flail where the UK box office is concerned.
The superhero sequel, which stars Jason Momoa, appeared to splutter and sink after a luke warm reception.
Earning just $18.3 million over the New Year's weekend - upped to $23.5 million over the four-day period bank holiday period - the film nonetheless claimed second place.
Globally, Aquaman still managed to rake in more than $250 million, however, the tangled production initially cost more than $200 million to produce.
It also battled the highly-anticipated Oprah Winfrey-produced musical The Color Purple, which was poised for awards season nods - but only brought in $13 million at the box office over the weekend.
According to data firm Comscore, ticket sales over the weekend were up 21% from 2022.
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