Wicked Shatters Box Office Expectations, Gladiator 2 Starts Strong

If you’re interested in finding “Wicked,” look to the top of the box office. Universal’s adaptation of Act One (with some padding) of the hit Broadway musical was the No. 1 in North America with $114 million from 3,888 theaters over the weekend.

Those dazzling box office sales rank as the third-biggest domestic debut of the year behind “Deadpool & Wolverine” ($211 million) and “Inside Out 2” ($154 million). Among other benchmarks, “Wicked” landed the fourth-biggest opening in history for a musical, ahead of Disney’s recent “The Little Mermaid” remake ($95.5 million) and behind “Frozen II” ($130 million), as well as the best opening (by far ) for a Broadway adaptation that overtook the record set by 2014’s “Into the Woods” ($31 million).

“Wicked” collected another $50.2 million at the international box office, bringing its global tally to $164.2 million. It marks the biggest worldwide opening for a film based on a Broadway show, replacing another Universal musical, “Les Miserables,” with $103 million in 2012.

“It’s crazy,” says David A. Gross, who runs the film consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “Audiences make the song and costume experience their own.”

While “Wicked” courted women (nearly 75% of ticket buyers) and families, men turned out in force for Paramount’s R-rated “Gladiator II,” the sequel from director Ridley Scott that’s been in the works for a quarter of a century. The gory sword-and-sandal epic opened solidly in second place (albeit behind expectations) with $55.5 million from 3,573 theaters over the weekend.

It’s unclear whether “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” fueled each other, à la “Barbenheimer,” an unexpected 2023 phenomenon in which tens of thousands of moviegoers opted to watch each other instead of between Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” – or if “Glicked” is just an effective case of counterprogramming. Either way, this weekend was one of the biggest of the year with approximately $210 million in total revenue. And good times at the box office will continue through Thanksgiving as Disney’s “Moana 2” swims into theaters on Nov. 27. However, year-to-date ticket sales remain at 10.5% after 2023 and 26.6% after 2019, according to Comscore.

“Once again, it’s clear that when healthy competition meets premium experiences, the marketplace thrives and consumers win,” said Michael O’Leary, president and CEO of the National Association of Theater Owners, the exhibition industry’s trade association. “This is a huge catalyst for a strong box office going into December and the new year.”

“Wicked,” directed by Jon M. Chu and starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, landed in theaters after more than a decade in development and a promotional push (including 400 brand partnerships) that rivaled “Barbie’s” ubiquity. Universal needed the song-and-dance film to strike a chord with moviegoers because “Wicked: Part Two,” which recounts the musical’s second act, will hit the big screen in 2025. The two films cost a combined $300 million to make produce, not including the mega marketing budget.

Despite the enduring popularity of “Wicked” on stage, its box office success is something of a cinematic anomaly because musical adaptations haven’t been translated to the screen in over a decade, since 2012’s “Les Miserables” ($442 million globally) and 2014’s ” Into the Woods” ($212 million globally against a $50 million budget).Recent efforts like Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” remake, Chus “In the Heights,” “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Cats” and “The Color Purple” hit the wrong notes for various reasons despite being based on popular productions.

Critics and audiences were charmed by “Wicked,” which boasts such Broadway classics as “Defying Gravity” and “Popular” and recounts everything that happens before Dorothy lands in Oz and strolls down the iconic Yellow Brick Road . Set before, during and after “The Wizard of Oz,” the story charts the unlikely friendship between the green-skinned Elphaba (later known as the Wicked Witch of the West) and the cheerful, pink-loving Glinda (eventually dubbed Glinda the God). The 2-hour and 40-minute film (for reference, the entire Broadway show is 2 hours and 45 minutes) earned an “A” grade on CinemaScore and a 90% average on Rotten Tomatoes. Critical raves, positive word-of-mouth and the musical’s infectiously catchy soundtrack are expected to drive repeat visits throughout the Thanksgiving holiday and into December.

“‘Wicked’ has become a phenomenon and demands to be seen on the big screen,” said Universal’s president of domestic distribution, Jim Orr. “It’s very pleasing to see that regardless of which age group or demographic you look at, the audience scores are enthusiastic. We have a phenomenal start to the new year.”

“Gladiator II” also has a massive budget — more than $250 million to produce and about $100 million to promote — and requires big global returns to be considered a success. So far, the muscular sequel is far bigger internationally, generating $221 million at the worldwide box office.

Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington star in the tentpole, which picks up some two decades after the first film, when Lucius (Mescal), nephew of Joaquin Phoenix’s Emperor Commodus and son of Connie Nielsen’s Lucilla, enters the Colosseum and seeks to return the glory of Rome to its people. Reactions have not been as positive as the original, an Oscar winner for best picture that was one of the top-grossing films of 2000 with $465 million globally, although reviews and audience scores have been mostly positive. It received a “B” grade on CinemaScore and 71% on Rotten Tomatoes.

“(Legacy) sequels benefit from built-in awareness and interest, but they need a creative reason to exist or audiences will reject them,” Gross says. “Critics’ reviews and audience scores are not on par with the first film (but) business is still excellent.”

When “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” occupied most of the country’s auditoriums, the other films in cinemas had to make do with pieces. Another newcomer, historical thriller set in World War II “Bonhoeffer. Pastor. Spy. Assassin,” opened in fourth place with a muted $5.1 million from 1,900 locations. Angel Studios, the company behind last year’s sleeper hit “Sound of Freedom,” backed the film about a devout Christian who planned to kill Hitler.

Elsewhere at the domestic box office, “Red One,” a Christmas action comedy starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Santa’s security chief, fell to No. 3 with $13.3 million from 4,032 screens, down a steep 59% from its debut. The film, from Amazon MGM, cost $250 million and has only grossed $52 million domestically and $117.1 million worldwide to date.

Sony’s “Venom: The Last Dance” rounded out the top five with $4 million from 2,558 locations. After five weekends on the big screen, the alien symbiote sequel starring Tom Hardy has grossed $133 million in North America and $456 million globally.