All records broken in the opening weekend

Musicals are not the most successful genre at the box office (see: “Cats,” “Dear Evan Hansen” and “Joker: Folie à Deux”). But song and dance movies might enjoy – as Glinda sings — a newly found popularity with “Wicked,” Universal’s adaptation of Act One of the beloved Broadway show.

The film grossed $114 million in North America and another $50.2 million internationally, bringing its global tally to $165 million for the weekend. That’s a huge win for theaters (ticket sales have been stubbornly lagging in 2023 and times before the pandemic) and Universal (as the studio must sell “Wicked: Part Two,” depicting the musical’s second act, to audiences in 2025). Each installment cost $150 million to produce, not including its inevitable pink and green marketing campaign. So “Wicked” needs to resonate at the global box office through Thanksgiving next year to justify those mega price tags. Then “thank god,” as Glinda also sings in the show that critical reviews and audience sentiment have been euphoric.

Jon M. Chu directed the PG “Wicked,” which stars Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh and Jonathan Bailey. Set before, during, and after “The Wizard of Oz,” the story tells the origins of Grande’s Glinda (later known as Glinda the Good) and Erivo’s Elphaba (eventually dubbed the Wicked Witch of the West), before Dorothy landed in Oz and wandered down . the yellow brick road.

Here are all the records from the opening weekend:

Domestic

International

Global