“Wicked” debuted to $164.2 million at the global box office, a towering figure that includes $50.1 million in overseas ticket sales. Universal’s big-budget adaptation of the hit musical was far bigger in North America with $114 million, ranking as the third-biggest domestic debut of the year and the best ever for a Broadway adaptation.
Globally, “Wicked” notched the largest opening for a film that’s based on a Broadway show, supplanting 2012’s “Les Miserables,” which ignited to $103 million. Ticket sales for “Wicked” rank as the fifth-biggest worldwide debut in history for a musical, ahead of Disney’s 2023 “The Little Mermaid” reimagining ($163.6 million) and behind 2019’s “The Lion King” ($446 million), 2017’s “Beauty and the Beast” remake ($358 million), “Frozen 2” ($358 million )and 2019’s “Aladdin” ($213 million).
Jon M. Chu directed “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), Erivo’s Elphaba (eventually dubbed the Wicked Witch of the West) before Dorothy landed in Oz and sauntered down the Yellow Brick Road. Despite its lengthy 2-hour, 40-minute runtime, “Wicked” only covers the Broadway musical’s first act; “Wicked: Part Two,” chronicling the show’s second act, arrives on the big screen in November 2025.
Universal spent $150 million to produce the first film and another $150 million on the second — not including a press tour that spared no expense and boasted partnerships with Target, Starbucks and 400 other brands. So the studio needs momentum for all things pink and green to endure not just through the holiday season but into Thanksgiving of next year to make good on those price tags. Thank goodness, as Glinda sings in the fizzy musical, that critical reviews and word of mouth have been euphoric. In terms of individual markets, “Wicked” enjoyed the strongest start in the United Kingdom and Ireland with $17.6 million, followed by Australia with $6.7 million, Korea with $4.7 million and Mexico with $4 million. It has yet to open in major territories including France, China and Japan.
“Gladiator II” also jolted the box office with $50.5 million overseas and another $55.5 million domestically. The R-rated sequel to Ridley Scott’s 2000 epic “Gladiator” entered the international box office arena last weekend with $87 million, and it has since generated $165.5 million overseas and $221 million globally.
The second “Gladiator” film, starring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington, carries a massive budget, too. It cost more than $250 million to produce and roughly $100 million to promote, so Paramount needs audiences to be entertained throughout Thanksgiving and into the New Year.
