Wicked and Gladiator II open to $170M in North American cinemas
WICKED and Gladiator II, two of the year鈥檚 most anticipated films, brought in a combined $170 million in US and Canadian theaters this weekend, kicking off what鈥檚 likely to be a strong holiday season for cinemas.
Universal Pictures鈥 film version of the hit Broadway musical, Wicked finished in first place with $114 million in ticket sales. Gladiator II, Paramount Global鈥檚 sequel to the 2000 best picture winner, grossed $56 million, to finish second.
The simultaneous release of two big-budget Hollywood films is reminiscent of last year鈥檚 鈥淏arbenheimer鈥 weekend, when Barbie and Oppenheimer drove scores of moviegoers to cinemas. Their combined $245 million opening weekend was a much-needed shot in the arm to theater owners, and their respective studios, Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. and Universal, a division Comcast Corp.
This year, the hashtag #Glicked was trending on social media, although it didn鈥檛 have quite the same pull as 2023, which saw tens of thousands of costumed moviegoers watch the unlikely pairing of Barbie and Oppenheimer as a double feature.
鈥淭he thing that鈥檚 really encouraging to see is the critical reaction scores for Wicked are tremendous across every demographic, which points to a very long run at the box office over the Thanksgiving quarter and frankly well into next year,鈥 Jim Orr, Universal鈥檚 president of domestic theatrical distribution, said in an interview. The movie sold an especially high number of tickets in areas such as Salt Lake City, where family-friendly fare often performs well at the box office, Mr. Orr said.
Wicked is the first of two films in a series, with the second scheduled for November 2025. The picture, directed by Jon Chu, stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo as young sorceresses in the fictional Land of Oz who later become the Good Witch of the North and the Wicked Witch of the West, respectively. It scored a robust 90% approval from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. It was forecast to generate about in its opening weekend, according to an estimate by Boxoffice Pro.
Gladiator II stars Paul Mescal as a slave-turned-warrior fighting to vanquish corruption in ancient Rome. Ridley Scott, 86, returned as director. The film had a 71% average score with professional reviewers. Paramount forecast sales of $60 million, while Boxoffice Pro projected that the picture would take in about $70 million.
鈥淚鈥檓 very bullish about how the film holds, we captured a decent percentage of the younger audience that wasn鈥檛 part of the legacy audience for the original. There鈥檚 nothing but family films ahead, and we as an R-rated action movie are an alternative,鈥 Chris Aronson, Paramount鈥檚 president of domestic theatrical distribution, said in an interview.
Going into the weekend, the North American box office was down about 11% from 2023, according to data from Comscore Inc. That鈥檚 a reflection of the two strikes last year by Hollywood actors and writers that pushed back the release of some films.
Last year鈥檚 holiday releases featured some notable disappointments, however, including Walt Disney Co.鈥檚 Wish and Warner Bros.鈥 The Color Purple. This year, the Thanksgiving to New Year鈥檚 box office could be stronger with Disney鈥檚 Moana 2 and Mufasa: The Lion King both projected to open to big numbers.
Bob Bagby, the chief executive officer the B&B Theatres chain and chairman of the National Association of Theatre Owners, said in an interview that a young family friend pledged to see Wicked in cinemas at least twice more.
鈥淥ur lobbies were full of guests in pink and green and of course a few dressed like gladiators, and this is just the beginning of a fantastic holiday season,鈥 Mr. Bagby said. 鈥 Bloomberg
