Wonka (film)

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, depicting his early days as a chocolatier. The film stars Timothée Chalamet as the title character, with an ensemble cast including Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Mathew Baynton, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Jim Carter, 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 when Warner Bros. Pictures reacquired the rights to the character in October 2016 and announced that the film would be an origin story. While it tells a standalone story with no connection to prior adaptations,[citation needed] King developed Wonka to exist as a "companion piece" to the 1971 film by reprising some of the music, thematic elements, and visual design of the Oompa Loompas. In May 2021, Chalamet was confirmed to portray Wonka, and the supporting cast was announced in September of that year. Filming began in the United Kingdom in September, at 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 film's original songs were written by Neil Hannon, and its original score by Joby Talbot.
Wonka premiered in London at the Royal Festival Hall, Southbank Centre on November 28, 2023 and was released in the United Kingdom on December 8 and in the United States on December 15 by Warner Bros. Pictures. It received generally positive reviews from critics and was a commercial success, grossing $628 million worldwide against a $125 million budget and becoming the eighth-highest-grossing film of 2023. It received a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film, and Chalamet was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
Category:Films