Box Office: ‘Wonka’ Triumphs Again as Jason Blum and James Wan’s ‘Night Swim’ Debuts to $12 Million

"Night Swim," a paranormal suspense film by horror veterans Jason Blum and James Wan, made its way to second place in its debut. Its premiere marked the first across-the-board release of the year, bringing in a reasonable $12 million from 3,200 theaters in North America. However, it couldn't outdo "Wonka," which maintained its top spot with a fourth weekend earnings of $14.4 million. International earnings for "Night Swim" were scant at $5.7 million from 36 markets, punching its global revenue up to $17.7 million. The movie, with a budget of $15 million, does not have to achieve much to break even, which is surely comforting for Universal, considering both audiences and reviewers did not enjoy the film. "Night Swim" scored a low 27% on Rotten Tomatoes and a "C" CinemaScore. The plot revolves around a family who discovers an eerie entity haunting their new home's backyard pool. This movie marks the first offering from Blum's Blumhouse ("Five Nights at Freddy's," "Paranormal Activity") and Wan's Atomic Monster ("The Conjuring," "Saw") since they officially combined their companies on January 2. David A. Gross, movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research head, pointed out that though the reviews and viewer scores were poor, it's not unusual for the genre, adding that Blumhouse consistently controls its budgets, which should benefit "Night Swim." Amid slow box office activity this January, as usual, "Wonka" has shown consistency following a tepid holiday season. The Warner Bros.’ musical comedy has grossed $164.6 million till date. Meanwhile, Universal and Illumination's animated comedy "Migration" secured third place with a decent $10.5 million from 3,712 theaters. After three weeks, the movie, depicting a duck family losing track on their southbound winter journey, has made a total of $78 million in North America and $150 million worldwide. Despite its $70 million budget, "Migration" seems to have the potential to avoid losses. Warner Bros. and DC's comic book sequel "Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom" ranked fourth with $10.6 million. The $205 million budget film failed to meet expectations and barely crossed the $100 million mark domestically after three weeks. Other comic book films like "The Flash," "The Marvels" and "Ant Man and the Wasp: Quantumania" faced similar disappointments. Sony's adult comedy "Anyone but You" closed the top five with $9.5 million, a rare increase of 9% from the previous weekend. After three weeks, the $25 million film starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell has accumulated a respectable $43.7 million. A24’s sports drama "The Iron Claw" joined the limited club of R-rated movies to hit $20 million in domestic box office earnings in 2023, along with the much bigger hits like "Killers of the Flower Moon" and "Oppenheimer." The movie featuring Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White as part of the ill-fated Von Erich wrestling dynasty has earned $24.3 million thus far, on a budget of $16 million.