Additional Coverage:
- ‘Wicked: For Good’ flies to the top of the box office with $150-million domestic debut (latimes.com)
“Wicked: For Good” Bewitches Box Office, Soaring to Second-Highest Opening of the Year
The highly anticipated conclusion to Universal Pictures’ “Wicked” film franchise, “Wicked: For Good,” has cast a powerful spell on the domestic box office this weekend, conjuring an estimated $150 million. This impressive haul marks the second-highest domestic opening of the year, trailing only the juggernaut “A Minecraft Movie.” Globally, the film has already grossed approximately $226 million.
The enchanting tale, starring Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda, resonated particularly strongly with female audiences. Data from EntTelligence indicates that 69% of the opening weekend viewers for “Wicked: For Good” were women, an even greater proportion than the first installment’s 61%.
Lionsgate’s “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” secured a distant second place at the domestic box office, earning $9.1 million. The third film in the illusionist series has now accumulated $36.8 million in the U.S. and Canada and a total of $146.2 million worldwide over its two weekends.
Rounding out the top five were Disney’s 20th Century Studios’ “Predator: Badlands,” Paramount Pictures’ “The Running Man,” and Searchlight Pictures’ “Rental Family.”
The phenomenal success of “Wicked: For Good” is attributed in part to an extensive marketing campaign that commenced well before the first “Wicked” film’s debut. Universal Pictures strategically aimed to broaden the story’s recognition beyond audiences familiar with the hit Broadway musical.
This expansive outreach involved collaborations with over 100 brands, ranging from toy giants like Lego and Mattel to household goods behemoth P&G and the online Asian supermarket Weee!, where director Jon M. Chu serves as chief creative officer.
The film’s triumphant opening weekend also underscores a significant demand for female-centric franchises within the current cinematic landscape. Following the colossal success of 2023’s “Barbie,” which garnered $1.4 billion globally, there has been a notable call for more films tailored to women. However, this year has seen a prevalence of male-leaning, big-budget productions, leading to questions about whether the industry is adequately serving all demographic segments.
“Women continue to be a really underserved audience,” commented Shawn Robbins, director of movie analytics at Fandango and founder of Box Office Theory. “In terms of large blockbusters, it’s been a minute since there’s been a female-skewing movie on the scale of ‘Wicked’ or ‘Lilo & Stitch.'”