Very early tracking figures, via analytics firm The Quorum, projects that Paul King’s upcoming musical “Wonka,” starring Timothee Chalamet, is headed for an opening in the low $20 million range.
According to The Evening Standard’s Tom Davidson, “Wonka” has a budget of around $125 million. That’s a lot for such a risk-taking project.
“Wonka” test-screened last December to good notices. Jeff Sneider, ViewerAnon and Big Screen Leaks all backed up the positive intel. Yes, it test-screened 15 months before its December 2023 release. I haven’t heard of any reshoots for the film.
King’s prequel to the classic Roald Dahl story “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” and the 1971 Gene Wilder-led adaptation, stars Chalamet as a young Willy Wonka, years before he founded his chocolate factory.
The marketing from Warner Bros. Pictures has been heavy, with multiple trailers, well over a dozen different poster designs, and Chalamet hosting SNL next weekend. Yes, we’re still over four weeks away from the film’s release, so there’s still time for this one to pick up some buzz.
The last trailer made it look safe and family-friendly. A whimsical tale about a young man who wants to open a chocolate shop. Chalamet does look slightly miscast, maybe it’s just the footage that was chosen, but there was no spark to his performance.
No one can really compare to Gene Wilder and the manic energy he brought to the original ‘70s Wonka. I’m seeing bits of shallow whimsy in this one. Maybe it’ll turn out to be a good movie, there’s still some potential there.
“Wonka” is banking on holiday audiences to show up as it opens right before Christmas on December 15th, 2023. Will people actually buy tickets for this one?
The theatrical version runs 108 minutes, so we're talking a nearly 2-hour-10-minute cut of a movie that works because it's lean, and I'm not sure anyone needs that.