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Box Office: ‘Wicked: For Good’ Takes Flight With Huge $68.6 Million Opening Day, Soaring to Second-Biggest Debut of 2025
The musical sequel 'Wicked: For Good' enjoyed the biggest opening day of 2025 and looks headed for the second-biggest debut of the year.
variety.com
Box Office: ‘Wicked For Good’ Opens to Record-Smashing $150M in U.S., $226M Globally
The Thanksgiving tentpole — starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo — boasts the biggest debut ever for a Broadway adaptation and the third-best among any musical.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
Box Office: ‘Wicked For Good’ Opens to Record-Smashing $150M in U.S., $226M Globally
The Thanksgiving tentpole — starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo — boasts the biggest debut ever for a Broadway adaptation and the third-best among any musical.
The Witches of Oz are making magic at the box office.
Universal’s Thanksgiving tentpole Wicked: For Good opened to a record-smashing $150 million in North America and $226 million worldwide after topping Friday’s North American chart with a massive $68.7 million from 4,115 theaters (that number includes $30.8 million in previews). Audiences are more than embracing the pic, giving it an A Cinemascore and a glowing 95 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It earned rave exit numbers on Comscore; kids in particular were enthralled. Overseas, it likewise opened to a record-busting $76 million from 78 markets for a global start of $226 million.
Wicked: For Good is the second title in filmmaker Jon M. Chu‘s ambitious big-screen adaptation of the iconic Broadway musical and book about the untold story of the witches of Oz. Ariana Grande stars as Glinda the Good Witch and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. The cast also includes Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Yeoh.
The female-fueled movie shattered numerous opening records everywheree. Domestically, it boasts the biggest start ever for a Broadway musical adaptation after besting last year’s Wicked ($112.5 million) and the third-biggest of all time among any musical behind 2019’s The Lion King and 2017’s Beauty and the Beast, no adjusted for inflation. It is also the second-biggest North American opening ever for a Universal title behind Jurassic World ($208.8 million); the second-best for the weekend before Thanksgiving behind The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ($158.1 million); and the second-best 3-day launch of 2025 to date behind A Minecraft Movie ($208.9 million). Lilo & Stitch, opening over Memorial Day, collected $147 million for the three-day weekend and $182.6 million for the four-day holiday frame.
Chu’s film likewise passed up Wicked overseas to rank as the top launch ever for a Broadway adaptation. It is also the fifth-biggest opening of all time for any musical behind The Lion King (2019), Moana 2, Frozen 2 and Beauty and the Beast. Lastly, it passed up Superman to become the fourth-biggest, three-day opening of the year to date behind Jurassic World Rebirth, Minecraft and Lilo & Stitch.
Overseas, the U.K. led with a record-busting $24.4 million, which is the best-ever November opening, the biggest start for a Broadway adaptation and the best opening of the year to date, not adjusted for inflation.
Other records: Imax ponied up $21.1 million of the bottom line, including $15.5 million domestically to rank as the biggest start ever for a November family friendly title.
Wicked: For Good is a needed jolt for the struggling North American box office in particular, which has suffered the worst fall in decades due to a glut of male-skewing pics and a lack of product for females and families. The movie’s better-than-expected performance more than proves the buying power of girls and women; nearly 70 percent of audience were females.
On the same weekend a year ago, the first Wicked likewise made history in its debut on its way to grossing nearly $750 million globally, a record showing for a Broadway musical adaptation. Such adaptations have been a tough genre for Hollywood to crack, but NBCUniversal entertainment chief and longtime movie studio head Donna Langley has remained intent on doing just that, even after Cats bombed. She’s succeeded.
Elsewhere, Searchlight opened the Brendon Fraser-led specialty dramedy Rental Family nationwided in 1,925 theaters. The critical and audience darling grossed an estimated $3.3 million to place fifth and become the latest adult drama to struggle, but Searchlight is hopeful it will have staying power over the lucrative Thanksgiving corridor. The holiday feast will became even more crowded on Wednesday when Zootopia yaps its way into cinemas.
Among holdovers, Lionsgate’s Now You See Me: Now You Don’t held in nicely its sophomore outing. The pic came in third with an estimated $9.1 million from 3,403 locations for a domestic total of $36.8 million and $146.2 million globally.
Disney and 20th Century’s Predator: Badlands rebounded to come in fourth with $6.3 million from 3,100 locations for a three-week domestic total of $76.3 million. Overseas, it added another $7.6 million for a foreign tally of $83.3 million and franchise best-cume of $159.6 million, not adjusted for inflation.
