Timothée Chalamet is officially the king of the Christmas box office.
It’s the third consecutive holiday season where the A-list star has dominated at the box office, a reign that began with 2023’s family-friendly musical “Wonka” and continued with 2024’s Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown.” This year’s ping pong adventure, “Marty Supreme,” extended the trend, serving up a stellar $27 million over the four-day frame. And Chalamet’s domination around the merriest of holidays should endure with 2026’s “Dune: Part III,” set for Dec. 18.
“Seemingly every year, Timothée has a major hit during the important holiday moviegoing corridor,” notes Comscore’s head of marketplace trends, Paul Dergarabedian. “No matter the genre, whether it’s a musical, biopic, sci-fi or comedy, his choice in the material and collaborators has made him not only a bona fide movie star, but a box-office draw.”
“Marty Supreme” confirms Chalamet’s status as the kind of actor whose name alone can sell a movie ticket. It’s a rare distinction these days, especially to have a star be synonymous with a season for moviegoing. The most recent example is probably Will Smith, who used to be known as Mr. Fourth of July. Starting with 1996’s “Independence Day,” several of Smith’s biggest blockbusters — 1997’s “Men In Black,” 2002’s “Men In Black II” and 2008’s “Hancock,” among them — were released in theaters around July 4th weekend.
With $17 million over the traditional weekend, “Marty Supreme” debuted at No. 3 in North America behind “Avatar: Fire and Ash” ($64 million) and “Zootopia 2” ($20 million). Those initial ticket sales stand as the second-biggest debut to date for A24 after Alex Garland’s “Civil War” ($25 million over the traditional three-day weekend). “Marty Supreme,” which launched a week earlier in limited release, has generated $28.3 million to date. The movie, which cost $70 million to produce, is expected to remain a box office draw into the new year due to positive reviews (a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes) and great word-of-mouth (a “B+” grade on CinemaScore). Staying power will be important, however, because “Marty Supreme” needs to generate a lot of coinage to justify its price tag, the biggest ever for an A24 film. Josh Safdie directed “Marty Supreme,” a frenetic comedy-of-errors that follows the fictional Marty Mauser as he pursues his dream of becoming a table-tennis champ.
“This was a gutsy, creative risk — a period sports drama — and it’s going to pay off, thanks to Chalamet and great holiday playing time,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research.
In terms of opening weekends, “Marty Supreme” ranks between Chalamet’s other Christmastime releases. “Wonka,” a fantasy musical about a young, aspiring chocolatier, Willy Wonka, opened to $39 million in mid-December and remained a force, eventually earning $218 million domestically and $634 million worldwide. Then “A Complete Unknown,” a drama about the counterculture icon Bob Dylan, bowed to $11.6 million on Christmas Day and, by the end of its run, strung together $75 million in North America and $140 million globally. Those films didn’t have record-breaking debuts, but they all benefited from playing over the lucrative holiday season. This stretch between Christmas and New Year’s is traditionally the busiest week of the year.
Chalamet, who just turned 30 years old, elevated his profile through blockbusters such as “Dune” and indie favorites such as “Call Me By Your Name,” “Lady Bird” and “Little Women.” The projects that followed were commercial risks, even if they appeared like obvious wins on paper. Although “Wonka” benefitted from brand awareness — it’s a prequel to the beloved “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” — it’s the kind of execution-dependent film that doesn’t work without audiences buying into Chalamet singing and dancing about a world of pure imagination. Ditto “A Complete Unknown,” which, of course, has the advantage of great music from the “Like a Rolling Stone” composer in his earlier years. But name recognition and a passionate fandom aren’t enough to bring audiences to theaters. See: This October’s Jeremy Allen White-led biopic “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere,” which faltered at the box office after failing to breakout beyond the core fanbase of the Boss.
Since “Marty Supreme” is completely original, Chalamet has been relentlessly marketing the film to avoid the fate of too many 2025 indies that collapsed at the box office. He’s captured the attention of the social media masses by gifting his famous friends the viral 1950s-esque windbreaker, flying a Nickelodeon-orange blimp around the country, climbing to the top of the Sphere in Las Vegas and turning the refrain “Marty Supreme. Christmas Day” into a mantra.
“Timothée Chalamet is the ‘it guy’ right now. There’s no denying it,” Exhibitor Relations analyst Jeff Bock told Variety after the film’s limited release. “The promotional work he’s done with this film is high-level genius.”
