Universal’s Broadway adaptation Wicked has earned an estimated $19.2m from advance screenings and previews at the North American box office.
The first part in John M.Chu’s adaptation starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande earned $2.5m from Amazon Prime screenings in 750 US theatres on Monday, $5.7m from 2,000 theatres in the US and Canada on Wednesday, and $11m from standard previews in 3,300 sites on Thursday.
Wicked has earned rave reviews and is forecast to gross in the region of $120m in North America this weekend, when it goes up against Paramount’s big opener, Gladiator II.
Sections of the press have already dubbed the two films ‘Glicked’, in the vein of the ‘Barbenheimer’ moniker that combined last year’s July 21 release of Barbie and Oppenheimer – although it remains to be seen if this weekend’s pair play off each other as the 2023 films did. Barbie and Oppenheimer combined for $244.5m in the same opening weekend.
The record-holder for a Broadway adaptation opening weekend is Into The Woods, which took $31m in 2014. Jon Favreau’s The Lion King holds the top spot for the biggest debut by any musical on $191.8m in 2019, and finished on $543.6m in North America.
In Wicked, Erivo plays Elphaba, a misunderstood young woman with green skin who is yet to discover her true power and meets Glinda, played by Grande, at Shiz University in the fantastical Land of Oz.
They forge a profound relationship before destiny pulls them in different directions and they become Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West. The cast includes Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, and Jeff Goldblum.
Producers are Marc Platt and David Stone, who together produced the hit stage musical. Part Two is scheduled to open on November 21, 2025. Both instalments reportedly cost in the region of $150m and the studio has been marketing aggressively, starting at CinemaCon 2023.
Meanwhile over at the Colosseum, Gladiator II earned approximately $6.5m in previews, according to reports, and is forecast to gross in the region of $60m this weekend. Paul Mescal stars in Ridley Scott’s long-awaited sequel to his 2000 best picture Oscar winner that starred Russell Crowe.
Mescal plays a man whose home is destroyed by the Roman Empire and is taken prisoner and forced to compete in Rome’s Colosseum, where he resolves to overthrow the corrupt emperors. The cast includes Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, and Connie Nielsen.
Scott’s 2000 original opened on an unadjusted $34.8m and went on to earn $187.7m.
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