Universal’s record-breaking Wicked dominated North American box office over the weekend thanks to a confirmed $112.5m launch, while Paramount’s G
Universal’s record-breaking Wicked dominated North American box office over the weekend thanks to a confirmed $112.5m launch, while Paramount’s Gladiator II arrived in second place on a robust $55m as total box office combined for a $200m-plus weekend.
Opening in 3,888 theatres, Jon M. Chu’s adaptation starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande is the third biggest opening of the year to date behind Deadpool & Wolverine on $211m and Inside Out 2 on $154.2m. It also established the biggest opening weekend by a Broadway adaptation by some distance, eclipsing $31.1m set by Into The Woods in 2014.
Wicked recorded the fourth biggest opening weekend of all time by a musical at the North American box office – Jon Favreau’s The Lion King in 2019 remains the all-time champion on $191.8m – as well as the fifth biggest franchise debut.
Driven by high awareness due to a marketing campaign that begin with the trailer drop at this year’s Super Bowl, the tentpole arrived on a wave of critical raves and is the number one film worldwide on an estimated $164.2m. The reception will only boost Wicked’s awards season prospects. Screen will report on international numbers on Monday.
Erivo plays Elphaba, a misunderstood teenage woman with green skin who is yet to discover her true power and meets Glinda, played by Grande, at Shiz University in the fantastical Land of Oz. They forge a profound relationship before destiny pulls them in different directions and they become Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West. The cast includes Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, and Jeff Goldblum.
The story takes place before the arrival of Dorothy as told in The Wizard Of Oz, and is based on Gregory Maguire’s novel that inspired the Broadway show. Part Two is scheduled to open on November 21, 2025.
Wicked earned an A CinemaScore and drew a mostly female-skewing crowd, while Gladiator II performed well among males. The $200m-plus pre-Thanksgiving session was the highest-grossing in more than 10 years. It remains to be seen however whether the ‘Glicked’ effect was a genuine driver of ticket sales over the weekend, as it was with ‘Barbenheimer’ in summer 2023, when film-goers booked a double bill of Barbie and Oppenheimer on the same outing.
Opening through Paramount in 3,573 locations, Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II bustled into action on an estimated $55.5m. Paul Mescal stars as a wronged man who enters Rome’s Colosseum resolving to overthrow the corrupt empire. The cast includes Denzel Washington, hotly tipped for supporting actor attention in awards season, alongside Pedro Pascal, and Connie Nielsen.
Scott’s long-awaited sequel to his 2000 Oscar best picture winner starring Academy Award winner Russell Crowe drew a 61% male-39% female crowd, with the 18-34 bracket accounting for 49% of all who saw the sword-and-sandals epic.
By ethnicity, Caucasians represented 56% of the audience, Hispanics 22%, Black film-goers 12%, and Asians 5%. It earned a B CinemaScore rating.
Paramount executives said Gladiator II over-indexed in the western and south-central US led by Los Angeles and San Diego, and under-indexed in the Midwest and Northeast. Canada came in with a robust market share of approximately 10% from around 8% of locations.
Roughly 17% of the sequel’s box office came from Imax screens and 14% from Premium screens, with PLF generating 11% of business, and motion seats around 3%. Scott’s 2000 original opened on an unadjusted $34.8m and went on to earn $187.7m.
In its second weekend, Amazon MGM Studios’ family holiday adventure Red One starring Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans added an estimated $13.3m from 4,032 to reach $52.9m. It ranks third.
There was a robust opening from the latest faith- and values-based release through Angel Studios as Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin arrived at number four on $5.1m from 1,900 sites. Todd Komarnicki, a co-writer on Sully, wrote and directed the film starring Jonas Dassler as the German Lutheran pastor who was part of a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
Columbia Pictures’ Venom: The Last Dance starring Tom Hardy rounded out the top five on $4m for $133.8m after five weekends.
Turning to the season’s other awards contender, Edward Berger’s Vatican thriller Conclave starring Ralph Fiennes added $1.1m through Focus Features for $29m after five weekends; Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or winner Anora has reached $12m through Neon following $675,000 from 500 screens in the sixth weekend; and Nora Fingscheidt drama The Outrun starring Saoirse Ronan has reached $988,083 for SPC after eight sessions.
In its second session through Abramorama in association with AJMC, Hello, Love, Again, which set a record debut for a Filipino film in North America last weekend, added $931,000 from 255 sites for a $4.7m running total.
Gints Zilbalodis’s Cannes selection and animation Flow opened through Janus Films at number 17 on $50,764 in two sites.
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