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'The Color Purple,' starring NC native Fantasia Barrino, earns second-biggest Christmas Day opening

The Grammy winner was at the Charlotte screening of the film on Saturday and WCNC Charlotte got a chance to speak to the actress.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — "The Color Purple," starring North Carolina native and Grammy winner Fantasia Barrino-Taylor, hit the big screen on Christmas Day with record-breaking numbers. 

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The musical drama is an adaptation of the Broadway musical and novel, which was written by Alice Walker. It features big-name actors, including Barrino-Taylor, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, David Allan Grier, and more.

Producers include Steven Spielberg, Quincy Jones and Oprah Winfrey, who starred in the 1985 adaption of the movie.

RELATED: 'It felt like a Black thing': Fantasia says she was racially profiled at Mooresville Airbnb

Barrino-Taylor plays Celie in the reboot. This is Fantasia's second time playing Celie, as she played the role in the Broadway version of the show between 2005 and 2008, shortly after she won "American Idol" in 2003.

On Saturday, Barrino-Taylor, along with other actors attended the screening of the film, which was held at the Regal Stonecrest at Piper Glen. 

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WCNC Charlotte caught up with Barrino-Taylor, who said that it "means so much more" to have the screening in her home state of North Carolina rather than in Los Angeles.

"The Color Purple" is now showing in theatres nationwide. It is the second-biggest Christmas Day opening for a feature film, according to Variety.

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NC A&T alum to appear in 'The Color Purple'


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