Wonka is a 2023 musical fantasy film directed by Paul King, who co-wrote the screenplay with Simon Farnaby, based on a story by King. It tells the origin story of Willy Wonka, a character in the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, featuring his early days as a chocolatier. The film stars Timothée Chalamet in the title role and an ensemble cast including Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Mathew Baynton, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Jim Carter, Natasha Rothwell, Tom Davis, Olivia Colman, and Hugh Grant. It is the third live-action film based on Dahl's novel, following Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005).
 Development began after Warner Bros. Pictures reacquired the rights to the character in October 2016 and announced that the film would serve as an origin story for the character. King developed Wonka to exist as a "companion piece" to the 1971 film, and therefore reprised some of the music, thematic elements, and visual design of the Oompa Loompas. In May 2021, Chalamet was confirmed to be playing Wonka and the supporting cast were announced in September of that year. Principal photography began in the United Kingdom in September 2021. Filming took place in Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden in Watford, as well as Oxford, Lyme Regis, Bath, St Albans and at the Rivoli Ballroom in Crofton Park, London. The original songs for the film were contributed by Neil Hannon, while its original score was provided by Joby Talbot.
 Wonka had its world premiere in London at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, on November 28, 2023. It was released in the United Kingdom on December 8 and in the United States on December 15 by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film has grossed $166 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics. For his performance, Chalamet was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
 Willy Wonka, an aspiring magician, inventor, and chocolatier, arrives in Europe to establish his chocolate shop at the Galeries Gourmet. Burning through his meager savings, he is coerced to stay at Mrs. Scrubitt's boarding house by her henchman Bleacher, and signs a contract despite orphan Noodle's warning about the fine print. To pay them off, Wonka introduces "hoverchocs", chocolates that make people fly, at Galeries Gourmet, facing mockery from three rival chocolatiers who call the Chief of Police to confiscate his earnings for disrupting their businesses and selling without a chocolate store.
 Unable to pay the exorbitant fees imposed on him by the contract, Wonka is captured and starts to work in a launderette alongside five other captives for Mrs. Scrubitt; including Noodle. Learning of a "Chocolate Cartel" plot involving the rival chocolatiers, Wonka makes Scrubitt and Bleacher fall in love and facilitates his escape to sell chocolate with the help of Noodle, to whom he promises a lifetime supply of chocolates. The Cartel exploits the Chief of Police's weakness for chocolate to force Wonka to leave town while Wonka tells Noodle that his affinity for chocolate stems from his late mother, who gave him one last chocolate bar. Wonka then discerns the theft of his chocolates by an enigmatic orange man who steals them for years. To produce his signature chocolate, Wonka, accompanied by Noodle, travels to the local zoo, milking Abigail the giraffe. Together with a group of captives, they embark on selling chocolates to alleviate their debts while using the underground to evade Scrubitt and the Chief. Unmasking an Oompa Loompa named Lofty as the thief, Wonka discovers that the Oompa Loompa seeks retribution for the cacao beans Wonka took years ago under Lofty's watch. Lofty ingeniously dupes Wonka, facilitating his escape.
 Using the funds raised from selling chocolates, the group of captives open Wonka's dream chocolate store. The Chief and the Chocolate Cartel, informed of Wonka's endeavors and now unable to arrest him since he has a legitimate shop, denounce him to Scrubitt. Infusing his chocolates with Yeti sweat, Scrubitt incites chaos among the customers, leading to the destruction of Wonka's store. Facing adversity, Wonka reluctantly agrees to the Cartel's offer to leave town by ship to pay off everyone's debts. Everyone is released from the launderette except Noodle; Cartel member Slugworth pays Scrubbit to keep her there indefinitely. Before jumping off the dynamited ship with Lofty, Wonka has a conversation with him during which he realizes that Noodle is Slugworth's niece. Noodle, who was reported dead to her birth mother Dorothy, was sold by Slugworth to Scrubitt in order to eliminate her claim to the family fortune. After rescuing Noodle with the help of the group, they devise a strategy to obtain the Cartel's incriminating account book.
 Taking advantage of Abigail's distraction, Wonka and Noodle infiltrate the Cartel's base, where they are confronted by the Cartel and nearly drowned in chocolate. Through strategic use of hoverchocs, Wonka enables Lofty to rescue them and unveils the Cartel's misdeeds. Exposing their actions to the authorities and the public, they release the Cartel's chocolate reserve through a fountain, laced with Wonka's unique ingredients, ruining the Cartel's enterprise. The Cartel, levitated uncontrollably by the hoverchocs, meets their downfall, and the police arrests their Chief. The crowd revels in tasting Wonka's chocolate fountain, and Wonka unwraps his mother's chocolate bar, discovering a Golden Ticket with a message that says chocolate is best shared. Sharing his mother's chocolate with friends, Wonka aids Noodle in reuniting with her mother, settles his debt with Lofty, and, with Lofty, acquires an abandoned castle to commence building a new factory.
 In an epilogue, Scrubitt and Bleacher are arrested after their attempt to eliminate evidence of sabotaging Wonka's shop backfires by drinking the mixtures, which disfigures them.
 In October 2016, Warner Bros. Pictures reacquired the rights to the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1964) character Willy Wonka from Roald Dahl's estate, with a film in development from producers David Heyman and Michael Siegel. In February 2018, it was announced Paul King was in negotiations to direct. That same year, it was reported the studio's shortlist of actors to star as Willy Wonka included Donald Glover, Ryan Gosling, and Ezra Miller, and it was revealed the film would serve as a prequel to the events of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
 In January 2021, it was confirmed King would direct the film, now titled Wonka, and it was reported that Timothée Chalamet and Tom Holland were the frontrunners for the title role. In May, Chalamet was cast, and it was announced the film would include several musical numbers. He was the director's only choice for the role, with King stating that he offered the actor the part with no audition after seeing his high school performances on YouTube, which proved his vocal and dancing skills. Chalamet was paid $9 million for his involvement. It was also revealed the film would be using a screenplay co-written by King's Paddington 2 (2017) collaborator Simon Farnaby; Jeff Nathanson, Simon Rich, and Simon Stephenson also provided additional literary material. In September 2021, it was announced Keegan-Michael Key, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Olivia Colman, and Jim Carter were among the newest additions to the cast, with Farnaby also set for a role.
 Principal photography began in the United Kingdom in September 2021, with Seamus McGarvey set as cinematographer, Nathan Crowley as production designer, Mark Everson as film editor, and Lindy Hemming as costume designer. Filming took place in historic Lyme Regis and Bath, as well as at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden in Watford. Filming also occurred at the Rivoli Ballroom in Brockley, London. By December, McGarvey exited as cinematographer with Chung Chung-hoon replacing him. Scenes were shot in Oxford in December and February.
 Neil Hannon, lead singer of the Divine Comedy, contributed original songs for the film. The musical score was composed by Joby Talbot. The soundtrack containing the original songs and score was released by WaterTower Music on December 8, 2023.
 Wonka had special screenings at ShowEast on October 24, 2023, and at the auditorium at Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads on November 19. On November 20 the film had a special premiere in Tokyo, with a red carpet attended by director Paul King, producers, David Heyman and Alexandra Derbyshire, and stars, Timothée Chalamet and Hugh Grant. The film had its world premiere in London, at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre, on November 28, 2023, and was theatrically released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United Kingdom on December 8, 2023, followed by the United States, on December 15, 2023, in both conventional theaters and in Dolby Cinema and IMAX. It was originally set for release on March 17, 2023.
 The marketing campaign from Warner Bros. Pictures for Wonka began on October 10, 2021, when Chalamet shared a photograph of himself in costume as Willy Wonka. The image was posted on Chalamet's Instagram with the caption "The suspense is terrible, I hope it will last," a reference to the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory starring Gene Wilder as the title character, which itself is a quote from the 1895 play The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. The Guardian noted that the image was met with mixed reception online.
 On April 26, 2022, footage of Chalamet as Willy Wonka was shared during Warner Bros. Pictures' presentation at CinemaCon. It also featured a rendition of the song "Pure Imagination" from the 1971 film. Deadline described the trailer: "Think Fantastic Beasts in regards to period (early 20th century), but so much more fun". The following year at the convention, Warner Bros. screened a teaser trailer for Wonka, which also saw a first-look at Grant as an Oompa-Loompa, which caused criticism from actors with dwarfism, including Jason Acuña, who remarked, "So I guess Hugh Grant, you’re now identifying as a little person". IndieWire praised Chalamet's transformation as Wonka remarking: "like the chocolate he concocts in this first trailer, it will make you fly". The trailer was released to the public on July 11, 2023, alongside a teaser poster. The film was also promoted during the 97th Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 23, 2023, in the form of a float called "The Deliciously Delectable World of Wonka."
 As of December 20, 2023, Wonka has grossed $53.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $113.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $166.5 million.
 In the United States and Canada, Wonka was projected to gross around $40 million from 4,150 theaters in its opening weekend. The film made $14.4 million on its first day, including $3.5 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $39 million, becoming the first live-action musical to top the box office in the post-COVID pandemic era.
 One week earlier, Wonka grossed $43.2 million in several overseas markets from 37 countries, where it was released. The biggest totals were from the United Kingdom ($11.1 million), Mexico ($5.2 million), Spain ($4.4 million), Germany ($3.6 million), Italy ($3.4 million), China ($3.3 million), Japan ($3.1 million), and Brazil ($2 million).
 On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 84% of 276 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "With director Paul King at the helm and some solid new songs at the ready, the warmly old-fashioned Wonka puts a suitably sweet spin on the classic character while still leaving some room for the source material's darker undertones." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 66 out of 100, based on 63 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it an 85% overall positive score, with 64% saying they would definitely recommend the film.
 Rotten Tomatoes found the initial reactions on social media to be mostly positive, with some reviewers criticizing the script and others praising Chalamet's performance and the film's presentation. The website then stated that the film "is silly and fun for the whole family with catchy music and stunning production design, even if it loses some of the edge found in its predecessors." The BBC reported that a number of critics likened the film tonally to the Paddington films, and despite "several glowing reviews", some felt that Wonka "lacks the darker elements of previous versions". Chalamet's performance was both praised and criticized for his singing, and some considered him miscast.