In a surprising turn of events, Warner Bros.' Wonka emerged as the top-grossing movie on Wednesday, raking in $8 million at 4,213 theaters across the nation. The film, in its 13th day of release, has now amassed a cumulative total of $102.5 million at the domestic box office. While this figure lags slightly behind Disney's 2018 musical Mary Poppins Returns, which reached $171.9 million at the same point in its run, Wonka remains a solid performer.

Notably, the Wednesday following Christmas has historically seen strong ticket sales, with movies like Avatar: The Way of Water and Spider-Man: No Way Home leading the pack. However, this year saw a dip in single-digit-million ticket sales, with Wonka taking the lead. Nevertheless, the overall marketplace appears to be thriving, as Tuesday, December 26 saw an estimated $46.9 million in earnings, a 24% increase compared to the same Tuesday a year ago. Wednesday's box office revenue also demonstrated a healthy boost of 19% year-on-year, reaching $38.3 million.

The success of Wonka contributes to the growing number of films that have crossed the $100 million mark at the domestic box office in 2023. It is the 24th movie to achieve this milestone, a testament to its widespread appeal.

While Wonka claimed the top spot, Illumination/Universal's Migration secured second place with $6.26 million, experiencing a marginal 4% decline from the previous day. The film, playing at 3,761 theaters, has accumulated a running total of $30.6 million. Following in third place was Warner Bros/DC's Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, which earned $5.9 million at 3,706 theaters, representing a 29% decrease. Despite the drop, Aquaman 2 is expected to surpass the disappointing box office performance of DC's Shazam: Fury of the Gods and is pacing similarly to Marvel Studios' The Marvels in its early days.

The diverse range of movies performing well midweek highlights the depth at the box office, catering to both adult audiences and those seeking holdover films. This year, nine movies managed to gross over $1 million on the Wednesday after Christmas, compared to just four in the previous year.

However, concerns loom over the upcoming New Year's take, as the lack of major wide releases through the end of April dampens expectations. With only 29 wide releases scheduled during this period, down from 44 in the same timeframe in 2023, the box office landscape may struggle to maintain momentum.

Warner Bros' musical The Color Purple, which debuted strongly on Christmas Day with an impressive $18.15 million, has faced a decline in ticket sales. On Wednesday, its earnings plummeted by 45% from the previous day, reaching $3.9 million at 3,152 theaters. The movie's running total stands at $29 million after three days, lagging behind Les Misérables' performance at the same point in 2012. Nevertheless, The Color Purple still has a chance to regain traction and potentially match or surpass the $148.8 million domestic total of its predecessor.

Looking ahead to the New Year's weekend, early estimates suggest that the four-day frame will see relatively equal contributions from Wonka, Aquaman 2, and The Color Purple, each projected to bring in around $20 million.

Rounding out the top ten on Wednesday were Sony's Anyone but You in fifth place with $2.6 million, Amazon MGM's The Boys in the Boat in sixth place with $2.46 million, A24's The Iron Claw in seventh place with $1.4 million, Neon's Ferrari in eighth place with $1.2 million, Lionsgate's The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes in ninth place with $1.1 million, and Gkids and Studio Ghibili's The Boy and the Heron in tenth place with $837,000.

As the holiday season continues to impact the box office, industry observers eagerly await the performance of upcoming releases and the challenges and opportunities they may bring for the film industry in the months ahead.