‘Wicked’ And Gladiator Sequel Dominate Weekend Box Office

Moviegoers were out in droves this past weekend and in doing so, helped Universal’s Wicked set a box office record for a musical. In a dichotomy of visuals and storyline, Gladiator II also fared quite well. Together, the two films brought in $270 million in sales this past weekend. Universal and Paramount, who produced Wicked and Gladiator II respectively, are hopeful that the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend will only continue the money train as it’s typically one of the busiest times at the theaters.

Wicked stars Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and banked $114 domestically. With a budget of $145 million, and international numbers near $160 million, Universal is pleased with the outcome thus far. These numbers put Wicked in 3rd place for the biggest opening weekend of 2024, coming in behind Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2.

Gladiator II is a long-time-coming sequel to the original Gladiator which was released in 2000. The budget fell somewhere around $300 million and is quickly on its way to making the money back after it brought in over $100 million just this weekend alone. Gladiator II is hopeful that with superstar and Oscar winner Denzel Washington in the cast, movie lovers will line up to watch the action film. Paul Mescal’s character, Lucius, returns to the Colosseum to fight for the honor of his defeated home. Certified “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes, reviews are great for the film at 72%.

There was a brief notion that the two films, just released on Friday, would mirror the marketing phenomenon that is “Barbenheimer” from last summer. The movies Barbie and Oppenheimer, as opposite as you can get both story-wise and visually, were somewhat jokingly promoted as a tag-team movie experience, which proved to be a massive success for the cinema world. However, nothing could keep up with Barbenheimer at $246 million as “Glicked” fell short of those numbers.

Wicked is no stranger to success as it’s been wowing audiences for over 2 decades on the Broadway and touring stages. The story of an unlikely friendship in the Land of Oz is based on the Gregory Maguire novel released in 1995, where Maguire puts his own spin on what happened before the classic tale of Dorothy and friends in the 1939 classic The Wizard Of Oz.

The marketing machine was working overtime especially in regard to promoting Wicked. If you could think of it, it most likely had the Wicked logo on it. From the expected merchandise like Mattel Barbie dolls of the main characters including Elphaba and Glinda to more questionable items like Kraft Mac and Cheese in green or pink, the marketing connected with Oz fans of all kinds. Starbucks went big and released 6 different tumblers, each with a unique design paying homage to the characters and Oz. Target, Stanley and Lego all are battling for your retail dollar with clothing, home decor, toy sets and body care items. Grande’s r.e.m. beauty didn’t miss the opportunity to release a Wicked-inspired line.

Some local theaters have been giving a gentle reminder to keep yourself from singing along during Wicked. The studio plans on a sing-a-long that will be released on Christmas Day. However, Gladiator II certainly doesn’t give the same theater kid vibes as Wicked.