THE COLOR PURPLE Box Office Numbers Fall After Christmas Opening

According to the New York Times, The Color Purple made an estimated $4.8 million from 3,218 theaters in the United States and Canada this weekend. This puts the film in seventh place at the box office, behind George Clooney’s “The Boys in the Boat," which is open at only 2,687 theaters.

The musical, which cost Warner Bros. at least $90 million to make and another $40 million to market, opened at $18 million on Christmas Day, marking a large attendance drop in the second weekend.

The Times reports that opening audiences were 65 percent Black, 19 percent white, 8 percent Hispanic, and 5 percent Asian, but the film needs to raise the attendance in white, Hispanic, and Asian demographics to continue to perform at the box office.

In total, it has made $55 million at the box office so far and is scheduled to open internationally on January 18th.

“I think the jury is going to be out for several weeks, as people talk to their friends about what movies they have seen and enjoyed — what has moved them and uplifted them — and the film continues to be honored by awards groups,” Jeff Goldstein, Warner’s president of domestic distribution told the Times.

Read the full report here.

Based on Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and the 2005 Broadway musical, The Color Purple is an unforgettable story of enduring love and triumph over adversity.

With a fresh, joyous score of jazz, ragtime, gospel and blues, this stirring family chronicle follows the inspirational Celie, as she journeys from childhood through joy and despair, anguish and hope to discover the power of love and life.

The new film stars Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Halle Bailey, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Phylicia Pearl Mpasi, David Alan Grier, H.E.R., Ciara, Jon Batiste, Louis Gossett, Jr., Tamela Mann, Deon Cole, Stephen Hill, Terrence J. Smith, Tiffany Elle Burgess, Aba Arthur, Elizabeth Marvel, and more.

Photo Courtesy of Warner Bros.