Timothee Chalamet’s film Willy Wonka banks $14.4M on opening day amid predictions it will gross $38M its first weekend

Timothee Chalamet's latest film, Wonka, in which he plays Roald Dahl's beloved chocolate factory impresario, has received an encouraging response.

Wonka debuted Friday and earned $14.4 million in one day, leading the charts The Hollywood Reporter to project a first weekend gross of $38 million.

In a sign of Timothee's idol status among young viewers, 33 percent of the audience was between 18 and 24 years old, and a whopping 60 percent between 18 and 34 years old.

Meanwhile, 54 percent of the audience was female and 10 percent consisted of underage teenagers, i.e. 13 to 17 years old.

The trade publication noted that, in an era when Hollywood musicals are floundering, the Wonka songs are a glimmer of hope for the genre.

Wonka debuted Friday and earned $14.4 million, leading The Hollywood Reporter to project a first-weekend gross of $38 million

Viewers of the photo have responded positively enough to give Wonka an A- CinemaScore and a viewership score of 90% Rotten tomatoes.

The critics were a little less vibrant in their response, but their reviews were so warm that Wonka gets a Tomatometer score of 80%.

Roald Dahl created the character Willy Wonka for his beloved 1964 novel Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, which has now been controversially discounted in a new edition to appeal to a woke readership.

His book has been adapted into films several times, first in the 1971 film Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, with an iconic turn by Gene Wilder as a chocolatier.

Tim Burton then adapted the book in 2005, with Johnny Depp giving a creepy Willy Wonka performance that was widely compared to Michael Jackson, who was acquitted of molesting a 13-year-old boy a month before the film's release.

A report in TMZ noted that, box office wise, Timothee's film is still quite far behind Johnny's, which grossed about $20 million on its opening day and grossed about $50 million by the end of its first weekend.

Timothee's new film is set years before the events in Dahl's book and tells the story of how Willy Wonka came to found his chocolate factory.

In the midst of the theatrical release of his new film, Timothee awaits the release of his upcoming epic Dune: Part Two, directed by Denis Villeneuve.

The film was originally scheduled to be released on October 20 this year, but due to several delays, it is now scheduled for release in March next year.

His book has been filmed several times, first in the 1971 film Willy Wonka And The Chocolate Factory, with Gene Wilder's beloved role as a chocolatier.

Tim Burton then adapted the book in 2005, with Johnny Depp giving a creepy Willy Wonka performance that was widely compared to Michael Jackson.

A number of postponements were implemented to work around the release dates of other films, with the latest delay coming due to the Hollywood strikes.

Now that the strikes are over, the next Dune movie will hit theaters on March 1 – and a new trailer was released this week to keep fans in suspense.

Timothee is also currently preparing to star in a biopic about Bob Dylan, focusing on his explosively controversial decision to go electric in 1965.

In a recent interview with GQhe revealed that he prepared for the biopic with help from the team that coached Austin Butler for Elvis.

“I actually worked with his whole Elvis team on my Dylan prep,” the Lady Bird actor said. “There's a great dialect coach named Tim Monich. Vocal coach named Erich Vetro. Exercise coach named Polly Bennett.”

Previewing Austin's performance as Elvis, he added, “I just saw the way he committed to it – and realized I had to take it a step further.”

Austin reached new heights of stardom last year with his Oscar-nominated role in Baz Lurhmann's Elvis Presley biopic.

He then traveled to Europe to star alongside Timothee in Dune: Part Two – and while he did so, he left Timothee thoroughly impressed with his acting skills.