“Wonka” has notched another sweet box office benchmark. The fantasy musical, starring Timothée Chalamet as the eccentric, fictional chocolatier, has crossed $600 million globally.
After 10 weeks on the big screen, “Wonka” has generated $210 million in North America and $395.1 million internationally for a towering worldwide tally of $604.9 million. Warner Bros. backed the $125 million-budgeted film, which has impressively remained in the top five on domestic box office charts since its debut in December. Chalamet’s star power, as well as brand recognition from Roald Dahl’s seminal novel “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” the 1971 film adaptation with Gene Wilder, and the 2005 reboot starring Johnny Depp, helped “Wonka” endure at the box office.
“Wonka” is director Paul King’s highest-grossing film, surpassing 2014’s “Paddington” and its 2017 sequel. It also stands as Chalamet’s biggest movie at the international box office, though “Dune: Part Two,” which opens in March, could shake up that placement.
The family film, co-starring Olivia Colman, Keegan-Michael Key and Hugh Grant as an Oompa-Loompa, centers on the early days of Willy Wonka and takes place long before a poor boy named Charlie Bucket wins a golden ticket to tour the world-famous and heavily guarded chocolate factory.
“This achievement is a testament the creative brilliance of Paul King, [producer] David Heyman, Timothée Chalamet and the dedicated cast and crew,” Mike De Luca and Pamela Abdy, co-chairs & CEOs of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group said in a statement. “Together they brought the timeless magic of Roald Dahl’s iconic characters to life in a way that only they could and have turned it into an instant classic for a new generation. Our heartfelt thanks go out to moviegoers across the globe for embracing ‘Wonka’ in such a remarkable way.”