The Color Purple was proven to be a big hit as evidenced by the millions of dollars the musical successfully earned on its first day in theaters.
Viewers flooded into the 3,152 North American theaters with showtimes for the new film that tells the story of a young Black woman who finds her voice in the early 20th century South. According to Variety, the public support led to the movie earning a whopping $18 million in ticket sales on Christmas Day. This has been recorded as the biggest film opening on Christmas Day since 2009. The Color Purple
also landed the No. 2 spot for biggest Christmas Day openings of all time. The soaring ticket sales for the Christmas Day premiere resulted in the film taking the top post, followed by two other new releases, Ferrari and The Boys in the Boat, which earned $5.7 million and $2.8 million, respectively.Setting a new bar for film musicals, the 2023 cinematic adaptation of The Color Purple shattered records with its box office earnings, generating more in its opening weekend than recent Broadway-to-screen musicals like In the Heights, West Side Story, Dear Evan Hansen, and Cats. The musical leads the list in ticket sales, with “In the Heights” following behind with $10.5 million in sales.
The Color Purple received high praises and boasts an “A” Cinema score alongside a multitude of positive reviews.
Fans crowded the film’s official Instagram page with comments about the movie. “This movie was wonderful! The scenery, costumes, dancing, acting was beautiful!” one user wrote. Another user scurried to the page immediately after she got home from the theater.
“I just got home and I absolutely loved it!” she wrote.
“I am so thankful that The Color Purple movie came out today, and that I saw it by myself. This movie brings out all your emotions. I’d recommend it to anyone who wants to see a really good movie with a big heart. Even if you’ve seen the original movie, like I did many times, and as much as I loved it…This one (really I never thought I’d say this) raised the bar even higher.”
The film adaptation of the novel-turned-Broadway musical features a notable cast, which included Fantasia Barrino-Taylor, Danielle Brooks, and Taraji P. Henson, as previously mentioned by BLACK ENTERPRISE.
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