“The Color Purple” marks the second biggest debut on Christmas Day

“The Color Purple,” a vibrant adaptation of the book that was turned into a beloved movie and then a hit Broadway musical, dominated the box office on Christmas Day.

The film exceeded expectations with $18 million from 3,152 theaters in North America. It is the largest Christmas Day opening for a film since 2009, and the second-largest Christmas Day opening ever.

Those ticket sales were enough to lead the way on Monday to two other new films, the neon racing film “Ferrari” and director George Clooney's inspiring sports story “The Boys in the Boat.” Warner Bros. Impressively, the top three spots on the local charts as “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” and “Wonka” swam to second and third, respectively.

With positive reviews and a glowing “A” on CinemaScore, “The Color Purple” marks the first musical in a while to resonate at the box office. The film, which is backed by Warner Bros. Directed by Blitz Bazzaoli, he collected more stories in one day than any other recent screen story — including “West Side Story” ($10.5 million), “In the Heights” ($11 million), and “In the Heights.” ($11 million), “Dear Evan Hansen” ($7.5 million) and “Cats” ($6.6 million) — earned revenue in their opening weekends. Of course, The Color Purple benefited from premiering on Christmas Day, one of the most popular days of the year to watch movies. But it's a promising start for the $100 million-budgeted musical, which should benefit from word of mouth in the coming days.

It looks like “purple” will remain the de facto choice for families through the remainder of the dull holiday season. “American Idol” winner Fantasia Barrino brings to life the trials, tribulations and triumphs of Celie, a black woman living in Georgia in the early 1900s. Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, and Halle Bailey round out the cast.

The Boys in the Boat, which tells the true story of the University of Washington rowing team that represented the United States in the 1936 Olympics, grossed $5.7 million from 2,557 theaters on its first day of release. Although critics were mixed about the film (it has a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences seem more enthusiastic, giving it an “A” CinemaScore rating. The initial crowd was mostly older women, with 38% of ticket buyers over 55 and 54% women.

Michael Mann's sports biopic “Ferrari,” starring Adam Driver as auto tycoon Enzo Ferrari, grossed $2.8 million at 2,325 locations Monday. At this pace, it's unlikely the film will reach its $95 million price tag.

Elsewhere, “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” earned $10.5 million from 3,706 locations Monday. The comic book sequel, starring Jason Momoa as the King of Atlantis, opened to a lower-than-expected $38 million during the four-day holiday window. With its $205 million price tag, “Aquaman 2” is shaping up to be Warner Bros.' latest underperforming film. And DC after a string of flops this year — “The Flash,” “Shazam!” “Wrath of the Gods” and “Blue Beetle”.

“Wonka,” a fantasy musical led by Timothée Chalamet as eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka, had a lot to enjoy on Christmas Day with $10.3 million at 4,213 venues. After two weeks of release, the prequel has grossed $86 million domestically and $254.9 million worldwide to date.