The Colour Purple

Source: Warner Bros

‘The Colour Purple’

The Color Purple opened to an estimated $18.1m on Monday to set the biggest Christmas Day launch in 15 years as Warner Bros tentpoles claimed the top three spots at the North American box office over the holiday weekend.

Blitz Bazawule’s musical version of Alice Walker’s celebrated story about a Black southern woman who prevails over life’s hardships is playing in 3,152 theatres and recorded a December 25 opening day that ranks behind only 2009’s Sherlock Holmes on $24.6m.

The Color Purple, which stars Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, and Colman Domingo and counts Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg among its producers, far outstripped the same day box office of stablemates Aquaman And The Lost Kingdom and Wonka.

The former ruled the weekend session and added $10.6m on Monday for a $38.3m running total after a single session – this is one of the lowest opening grosses in DC history and trails its 2018 predecessor, which stood at $53.8m by the same stage – while Wonka earned $10.3m for $85.9m after two sessions.

Amazon MGM Studios opened George Clooney’s The Boys In The Boat on Monday and the 1930s-set drama about a crew of Olympic hopeful rowers arrived on $5.7m from 2,557 sites.

Michael Mann’s Venice premiere and motor racing biopic Ferrari starring Adam Driver as Enzo Ferrari, opened on Monday on $2.9m from 2,330 theatres via Neon.

Comparison data is unadjusted for inflation.