Universal is expected to take the number one spot at the domestic box office this weekend, where the biggest clash of the year is unfolding before a rapt audience. The musicalWickediseyeing $120 million in its first weekend of release, with Paramount’sGladiator IIset to take the number two position with around half that amount. Directed byJon M. Chu,Wickedalso trumpedRidley Scott’s swords-and-sandals epic in terms of critical and audience acclaim. Not only has it debuted with a significantly superior score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, it has also earneda stupendous response from audiences.
According to the polling platform CinemaScore,Wickedhasearned an excellent A grade, which is on par with last year’s phenomenal hitBarbie. Directed byGreta Gerwig, the satirical comedy ended up grossing over $1.3 billion worldwide. What this also means is thatWickedwill continue to do wonders across the holidays, which isn’t something thatGladiator II, with its so-so B CinemaScore, can count on at this point. StarringCynthia ErivoandAriana Grande,Wickedalso holds a promising 89% approval rating on RT, but more impressively, hasa 98% audience scoreon the platform.
Chu has been on a roll recently, after having cut his teeth on studio gigs that didn’t exactly get good reviews. His last two releases, the romantic comedyCrazy Rich Asiansand the musicalIn the Heights, both earned A CinemaScores as well.The Greatest Showmanalso earned an A grade, as didSteven Spielberg’sWest Side Story.Wickedalso delivered a better CinemaScore than those earned by comparable titles such asMamma Mia, its sequelMamma Mia: Here We Go Again, andThe School of Rock. Each of those films scored an A- grade. The disastrousCats, released in 2019, earned a C+ grade.
‘Wicked Part Two’ Will Be Released In November 2025
Produced ona reported budget of $145 million, the movie isadapted from the blockbuster Broadway musical of the same name, with music and lyrics byStephen Schwartzand a book byWinnie Holzman. The musical was based on Gregory Maguire’s novel, “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.” The book, in turn, was based onL. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” which also inspired the classic 1939 film of the same name. A sequel, titledWicked Part Two, is scheduled for release in a year’s time. you’re able to watch the firstWickedin theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
The story of how a green-skinned woman framed by the Wizard of Oz becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. The first of a two-part feature film adaptation of the Broadway musical.
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