If anyone needed a reminder of why movie lovers and audiences love a big, colorful musical event, then you all should know that ‘Wicked: For Good‘ just delivered it with a wand flick. The Thanksgiving tentpole is apparently soaring past even the boldest predictions, heading toward with $151 million-plus opening in the U.S. and roughly $228 million worldwide on a global scale.
Indeed, that’s an enormous start for any film, but for a Broadway musical adaptation? It’s practically something none of us have ever heard of. And audiences seem thrilled about it, as the film earned an A CinemaScore along with a glowing 96% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes. For a genre that sometimes struggles to win over modern moviegoers, this should be commended for being a full-blown success.
Glinda and Elphaba’s return is fueling a record-breaking frenzy
As we all know that Wicked: For Good is the second chapter in Jon M. Chu’s two-part cinematic reimagining of the iconic Broadway musical. And this time as well, we see Ariana Grande as the pink glitter Glinda the Good Witch, while Cynthia Erivo brings an emotional weight and powerhouse vocals to the bad green Elphaba, who is the future Wicked Witch of the West as per the classics.
Together, they have anchored a story that shows us the beauty behind a mere spectacle, friendship, and political intrigue. It is honestly a mix that seems to be connecting strongly with both longtime fans and brand-new audiences.
And if the numbers hold, the film is about to make some serious history, because domestically, it’s on track to claim the biggest opening ever for a Broadway musical adaptation. Keeping that in mind, it will result in surpassing 2024’s ‘Wicked,’ which debuted with $112.5 million. It would also rank as the third-largest opening for any musical in history, sitting just behind Disney giants ‘The Lion King‘ (2019) and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ (2017).
For the production house Universal, it would mark the studio’s second-biggest North American opening ever, trailing only ‘Jurassic World.’ And in the competitive pre-Thanksgiving slot, it’s poised to be second only to ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.‘
And audiences, as well as fans, can understand the global momentum, which is very powerful. Wicked: For Good is projected to surpass the first film to claim the strongest worldwide opening ever for a Broadway adaptation.
As per the reports, it also aims to secure a spot among the five biggest musical openings of all time, joining two more Disney hits like ‘Frozen 2’ and ‘Moana 2.’ On top of that, it’s set to become the fourth-largest worldwide debut of the year, following ‘Jurassic World Rebirth,’ ‘Minecraft,’ and ‘Lilo & Stitch.’
An opening that finally cracks the musical-movie code
It is quite remarkable when you consider what makes this even more significant and how the movie is reshaping the current box-office landscape. As per THR North American market has been struggling through its slowest fall in decades, weighed down by a wave of male-driven releases and a shortage of event films aimed at families and female audiences.
And with Wicked: For Good, it is proving exactly how strong that audience segment is, as nearly 70% of opening-day viewers are women and girls.
And here’s the most beautiful twist about it, because just a year ago, the first Wicked film also opened over Thanksgiving weekend and went on to gross nearly $750 million worldwide.
Despite past stumbles in the same genre and the disaster that was created by ‘Cats,’ which still haunts Hollywood, NBCUniversal chief Donna Langley stayed committed to cracking the musical formula.
And it is safe to say that with Wicked: For Good, it’s clear she finally did.
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