Glinda and Elphaba remain “very very popular” at the box office.
“Wicked: For Good,” Universal’s rendition of Act Two of the musical sensation, was No. 1 with $150 million from 4,115 North American theaters in its opening weekend. The film set a record for Broadway adaptations, shattering the debut of 2024’s “Wicked,” which previously held the benchmark with $112.5 million over the same pre-Thanksgiving frame. These ticket sales also rank as the year’s second-biggest opening behind April’s “A Minecraft Movie” ($162 million) but above May’s “Lilo & Stitch” remake ($146 million).
“Wicked: For Good” collected an additional $76 million at the international box office, bringing its global total to $226 million. It marks the biggest overseas and global opening for a stage musical adaptation, also overtaking its predecessor, “Wicked,” which debuted to $50.2 million internationally and $164.2 million globally. The second installment grew its audience overseas, which is important because the first film had overindexed in North America.
“This is broad-appealing Hollywood filmmaking at its best,” says David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “Strong word-of-mouth is going to drive business through the Thanksgiving Holiday and into December. This is a smash.”
Although the second half of “Wicked” is much darker than the stage show’s fizzy first act, audiences — 71% of which were female — remained charmed by “For Good.” The film landed an “A” grade on CinemaScore exit polls, the same as the first installment. Directed by Jon M. Chu, “Wicked: For Good” has been billed as the must-see conclusion to Elphaba and Glinda’s epic journey down the Yellow Brick Road. This entry picks up as the Wizard and Madame Morrible attempt to turn all of Oz against the newly branded Wicked Witch of the West (Cynthia Erivo). Meanwhile, Elphaba’s perky, pink-loving BFF embraces her public persona as Glinda the Good (Ariana Grande). Like the initial adaptation, goodwill toward the musical property and the catchy soundtrack are likely to drive repeat business through the rest of the year.
“Wicked: For Good” is providing a necessary lift to the box office, which has been languishing in recent weeks without a major blockbuster to boost attendance. Although two upcoming releases, Disney’s “Zootopia 2” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” will help to end the year on a high note, overall domestic grosses are expected to remain just 3% ahead of 2024 by the time the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve. That doesn’t seem so bad, except that grosses last year were nearly 24% behind pre-pandemic times.
“This overperformance by ‘Wicked: For Good’ sets up a very strong home stretch for the industry,” says Comscore’s head of marketplace trends, Paul Dergarabedian. “‘Wicked: For Good’ will inject much-needed momentum into the marketplace, and that will continue all the way through the holidays.”
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As “Wicked: For Good” loomed over the domestic box office, two fellow new releases, Sony’s bloody, R-rated action thriller “Sisu: Road to Revenge” and Searchlight’s dramedy “Rental Family,” fizzled in their respective debuts.
“Rental Family,” starring Brendan Fraser as a lonely, struggling actor who lands the not-so-plum job of playing stand-in roles for strangers in Japan, opened in fifth place with $3.3 million from 1,925 cinemas. Reviews and audience scores are strong (an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes and “A” grade on CinemaScore), which could help the film stick around over the holiday season.
“Sisu 2” landed at No. 6 with $2.6 million from 2,222 theaters, behind already soft estimates of $3 million. Those ticket sales are behind the prior installment, 2022’s “Sisu,” which ignited to $3.3 million before tapping out with $7 million domestically and $14 million globally.
Holdover titles, including “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t,” “Predator: Badlands” and “The Running Man,” rounded out the top five.
Second place went to “Now You See Me 3,” which added $9.1 million in its second weekend of release, a 56% drop from its debut. Lionsgate’s illusionist adventure has amassed $36.8 million domestically. The film, which cost $90 million to produce, has been a much bigger hit overseas with $109 million for a global tally of $146 million. A fourth installment is already in the works.
“Predator: Badlands” was No. 3 with $6.5 million in its third weekend, while “The Running Man” wasn’t far behind in fourth place with $6.1 million in its sophomore outing. Both are big-budget tentpoles that will struggle to recoup their budgets since theater owners get to keep half of ticket sales. “Badlands,” which cost $105 million, has earned $76 million domestically and $159.6 million globally. “The Running Man,” which carries a $110 million price tag, has generated just $27 million in North America and $48.3 million worldwide. Better keep running, man.
From Variety US