‘Wicked’ videos, photo leaks go viral as fans use phones in theaters

The final scene of “Wicked” is a cinematic triumph. A defiant Cynthia Erivo soars through the sky, circling Oz and belting out “Defying Gravity” as her enemies look on in awe. It inspires tears and applause, and even sends the audience jumping from their theater seats as Erivo hits the high notes.

But you don’t need to buy a ticket to witness it now. The full four-minute conclusion to the first part of Universal’s smash hit is currently available on social platforms like X and TikTok for free.

That’s because fans can’t seem to stop snapping photos and recording entire, minute-long clips of Erivo and her co-star Ariana Grande going toe-to-toe in the Emerald City. Some of this piracy (and make no mistake, it is what it is) serves to document the fevered embrace of all things “evil.” Others are intended to convey other forms of worship.

There is grainy footage of a moviegoer trying to hit the same notes as Erivo during his big number. There are hundreds of posts from Grande’s performance of “Popular,” another hit from the original musical, with fans praising the pop queen’s comedic chops and dancing skills — many of which are tagged with the banner “Spoiler!” There are also countless videos of a surprise cameo made by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, who originated the roles of Glinda and Elphaba in the original Broadway production of “Wicked.” These videos and images have been live and garnered millions of views, and the film has only been in theaters for five whole days.

“Wicked” is hardly an exception. Supercuts of all the sex scenes between Daniel Craig and Drew Starkey in A24’s “Queer” have been on X since the beginning of September. The shirtless, bloody Paul Mescal steering an ancient ship in “Gladiator II” is thirstily posted on TikTok, one that says the film is “for the girls.”

How does it get past the studios, which are equipped with huge anti-piracy teams and armies of lawyers? For that matter, how does this get past the community guidelines on the social media platforms where copyrighted material is posted?

“Something has happened post-pandemic where cinema behavior has really changed,” said a top film executive, speaking on condition of anonymity. The director is referring to the younger audience who have become more emboldened to share this long footage from the sanctity of the cineplex, where phones are supposed to be banned.

“They have a different relationship with the material, it’s all just content for them,” sighed the director, who (along with two other industry sources) pointed to a watershed moment for this kind of behavior. It was the July release of “Deadpool & Wolverine,” Marvel’s superhero mashup, that helped save the box office in 2024 and preserve the A-list sheen surrounding Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman.

“Something really happened with that movie,” the source said, specifically pointing to Reynolds and “Deadpool & Wolverine” director Shawn Levy. Both men shared and interacted with with social media content pirated from theaters during its opening weekend – many of which featured ecstatic crowds reacting to cameos from Channing Tatum, Wesley Snipes and Jennifer Garner.

A spokesman for Reynolds did not return requests for comment, and Levy had no comment. A source familiar with Levy’s thinking said he never intentionally shared material shot in theaters and strongly opposes piracy. Universal Pictures did not comment on the “Wicked” piracy, but a source familiar with the company said internal teams are active in removing the illegal footage in most cases. This conundrum is even more interesting considering that “Wicked” is a musical, and one could argue that its true value lies in show-stopping numbers like “Defying Gravity.” Think back to 2006’s “Dreamgirls,” when filmmakers banned eventual Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson from performing the torch song “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going” at the Oscars. The argument? Buy a ticket if you want to have your world rocked by her vocals.