Christmas Day box office tally sees ‘The Color Purple’ singing at the top

The numbers are in for movies that made their debut in theaters on Christmas Day and the musical adaptation The Color Purple beat expectations with an $18 million debut, according to Variety. 

It’s the second biggest Christmas opening of all time, behind the $25 million earned in 2009 by Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law.

Moviegoers have been singing the praises of The Color Purple, which stars Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, and Halle Bailey, among others: It had an A from fan ratings site Cinescore and a 94% Audience Score from Rotten Tomatoes.

Of the other Christmas Day releases this year, Purple handily bested George Clooney‘s historical directorial effort The Boys in the Boat, which made $5.8 million, and Ferrari starring Adam Driver, which earned $2.8 million.