Glinda and Elphaba continue to wield their spellbinding charm at the box office, as "Wicked: For Good," Universal's rendition of Act Two of the musical sensation, soared to the top spot with a whopping $150 million from 4,115 North American theaters during its opening weekend. This feat shattered the record set by the 2024 debut of "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" added an impressive $76 million at the international box office, bringing its global total to a staggering $226 million. This marks the biggest overseas and global opening for a stage musical adaptation, once again outpacing its predecessor "Wicked," which debuted to $50.2 million internationally and $164.2 million globally. The second installment expanded its audience overseas, a crucial feat as the first film had overindexed in North America.
David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research, exclaims, "This is broad-appealing Hollywood filmmaking at its finest. Strong word-of-mouth is going to drive business through the Thanksgiving Holiday and into December. This is a smash." The film's 71% female audience remained enchanted by "For Good," landing 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. The film 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), while 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.
Universal's domestic distribution chief Jim Orr remarks, "The first movie set the stage for this to be an extraordinary event. This weekend is great to open a movie because of the upcoming holiday period. We knew we had the playability, and these audience scores point to a similar long run for the first film."
"Wicked: For Good" is providing a much-needed 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 end the year on a high note, overall domestic grosses are expected to remain just 3% ahead of 2024 by New Year's Eve. However, this overperformance by "Wicked: For Good" sets up a very strong home stretch for the industry, injecting much-needed momentum into the marketplace that will continue all through the holidays.
Meanwhile, 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 a 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 an "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 soft estimates of $3 million. Those ticket sales are behind the prior installment, 2022's "Sisu," which ignited to $3
