Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo star in a movie directed by Jon M. Chu.
The movie Wicked is a big hit at the box office before Thanksgiving. Universal’s live-action version of the Broadway musical, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, opened in first place with about $114 million in the U.S., according to The Hollywood Reporter.
That makes Wicked the third biggest movie opening this year, behind Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2, according to the Associated Press. It also broke the record for the best opening of a Broadway musical adaptation and became one of the biggest opening weekends ever for a musical movie.
Advertisement Wicked, directed by Jon M. Chu, has made $164.2 million worldwide.
Meanwhile, Gladiator II, the sequel to Ridley Scott’s Oscar-winning 2000 film, is expected to earn $55.5 million in the U.S., according to THR. Starring Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, and Fred Hechinger, it has already made $165.5 million worldwide.
See More: Box Office: ‘Wicked’ Makes Huge $19.2 Million in Previews, ‘Gladiator II’ Has $6.5 Million
Some people thought the two big movies might create a buzz like the “Barbenheimer” craze in 2023, when Barbie and Oppenheimer were both huge hits at the same time. The new nickname, “Glicked” (a mix of Gladiator II and Wicked), didn’t match the U.S. openings of Barbie ($162 million) and Oppenheimer ($82.5 million), but both movies still did really well.
With Cynthia Erivo playing Elphaba, the green-skinned witch, and Ariana Grande as Galinda (or Glinda the Good), who loves all things pink, Wicked has impressed critics, especially for their performances in these famous roles. The second part of the movie is planned to come out in November 2025.
Along with the movie, Wicked: The Soundtrack was released. It features 11 songs from the movie and a new orchestral track. The rest of the musical’s songs will come out with part two in 2025.
Source: Billboard