Lead: Universal’s Wicked: For Good opened at No. 1 with $150 million from 4,115 North American theaters over the pre-Thanksgiving weekend, becoming the largest opening ever for a Broadway adaptation. The film added $76 million overseas for a $226 million global total in its first weekend. That global haul surpasses the original Wicked’s international and worldwide debuts, underlining stronger overseas performance. Early audience metrics — an “A” on CinemaScore and a 71% female turnout — suggest strong holiday legs.
Key Takeaways
- Wicked: For Good grossed $150 million domestically from 4,115 theaters in its opening weekend.
- International receipts totaled $76 million, producing a $226 million global opening — a record for a stage-musical adaptation.
- The film eclipsed the original Wicked’s $112.5 million domestic debut and $164.2 million global start.
- Its $150 million launch is the year’s second-biggest opening, behind A Minecraft Movie ($162 million) and ahead of Lilo & Stitch remake ($146 million).
- Audience polling returned an “A” CinemaScore; 71% of ticket buyers were female, mirroring strong franchise skew toward women.
- Analysts say word-of-mouth and soundtrack goodwill should sustain holiday attendance; forecasts keep year-to-date domestic grosses roughly 3% ahead of 2024 by year end.
- Two new releases — Rental Family ($3.3M) and Sisu: Road to Revenge ($2.6M) — opened weakly alongside Wicked’s surge.
- Holdovers Now You See Me 3, Predator: Badlands and The Running Man continued to underperform relative to their production budgets.
Background
The Wicked film projects adapt the two-act Broadway phenomenon that reimagined L. Frank Baum’s Oz through the perspectives of Elphaba and Glinda. The first film in this adaptation series opened earlier in 2024 and posted a strong North American result but a smaller international footprint, prompting close attention to the sequel’s overseas strategy. Studios have increasingly leaned on established theatrical properties and musicals to produce event cinema that drives repeat viewing and soundtrack-related engagement.
Broadway-to-screen adaptations have produced a wide range of results historically, with commercial outcomes often depending on built-in fanbases and the degree of cinematic spectacle. Universal positioned Wicked: For Good as the concluding cinematic chapter of the two-part saga, banking on star power and director Jon M. Chu’s showier sensibilities to translate Act Two’s darker material for mass audiences. The holiday release window is traditionally fertile for family and franchise fare, which likely contributed to the film’s broad opening footprint.
Main Event
Over the four-day Thanksgiving frame, Wicked: For Good topped the North American box office with $150 million from 4,115 venues, a figure that set a new record for stage-musical adaptations. International sales added $76 million, lifting the worldwide total to $226 million and making this the largest global opening for any film adapted from a stage musical. Those totals outpaced the first Wicked film, which began with $112.5 million domestically and $50.2 million internationally.
The sequel opens amid a darker narrative arc: the Wizard and Madame Morrible attempt to turn Oz against Elphaba, now labeled the Wicked Witch of the West (portrayed by Cynthia Erivo), while Glinda (Ariana Grande) embraces the very public role of Glinda the Good. Despite the shift in tone, audience reception skewed positive, mirroring the first film’s exit polling. Repeat visits and soundtrack interest are expected to be significant contributors to cumulative box office through December.
Other newcomers were unable to match Wicked’s momentum. Rental Family, starring Brendan Fraser, opened in fifth with $3.3 million from 1,925 theaters but drew strong critical and audience scores that could sustain a long tail. Sisu: Road to Revenge debuted at $2.6 million from 2,222 locations, falling short of estimates and trailing its 2022 predecessor’s opening pace.
Analysis & Implications
Wicked: For Good’s launch illustrates how a well-known theatrical brand can be converted into a major cinematic event when paired with wide distribution and festivalized marketing. The sequel’s ability to grow international revenue relative to the first installment is especially notable — it reduces reliance on North American box office and improves global profit potential. Studios monitoring franchise returns will see this as validation for investing in big-budget musical cinema as family-friendly holiday counterprogramming.
From a marketplace perspective, the film provides timely uplift after several sluggish weeks. Analysts forecast that the surge could buoy ticket sales through the Thanksgiving corridor into December, which remains a critical period for studios seeking to close the year strongly. Still, even with Wicked’s boost, industry-wide domestic grosses are tracking only modestly ahead of 2024 through year end, reflecting the broader post-pandemic recovery pattern for theatrical revenue.
For exhibitors, the movie’s outsized opening underlines the value of event titles that attract broad demographics and repeat customers. A high CinemaScore and a strong female turnout suggest durable per-theater averages; theaters that strategically program extended showtimes and premium formats may capture additional revenue. Conversely, mid-budget or R-rated titles released alongside such tentpoles risk being squeezed, as early results for Sisu and Rental Family indicate.
Comparison & Data
| Title | Domestic Opening | International Opening | Global Opening |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wicked: For Good (2025) | $150,000,000 | $76,000,000 | $226,000,000 |
| Wicked (2024) | $112,500,000 | $50,200,000 | $164,200,000 |
| A Minecraft Movie (2025) | $162,000,000 | — | $162,000,000 |
| Lilo & Stitch remake (2025) | $146,000,000 | — | $146,000,000 |
The table highlights Wicked: For Good’s comparative strength: it overturns its predecessor’s opening by a wide margin, particularly overseas. Those international gains matter because they diversify revenue streams and can determine long-term profitability once production and marketing costs are tallied. Comparing openings also places the film within 2025’s competitive landscape, where only a few titles matched or exceeded similar blockbuster-level starts.
Reactions & Quotes
Industry voices framed the result as both a commercial and cultural moment for event musicals.
“This is broad-appealing Hollywood filmmaking at its best,”
David A. Gross, Franchise Entertainment Research (consulting firm)
Gross emphasized that strong word-of-mouth is likely to sustain the film through the holiday period.
“Wicked: For Good will inject much-needed momentum into the marketplace,”
Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore (head of marketplace trends)
Dergarabedian said the title sets up a strong finish for the season and could stimulate ticket-buying across other releases during the holidays.
Unconfirmed
- Whether Wicked: For Good will maintain top-tier weekly grosses throughout December remains subject to change and depends on holiday word-of-mouth and competition from upcoming releases.
- Industry projections that end-of-year domestic grosses will finish about 3% ahead of 2024 are estimates and may be revised as late-December data arrives.
Bottom Line
Wicked: For Good registered a landmark opening for a stage-to-screen adaptation, posting $150 million domestically and $226 million worldwide in its first weekend. The sequel’s improved international performance over the original reduces geographic concentration risk and enhances its commercial profile heading into the holidays.
For studios and exhibitors, the film is a reminder that well-handled franchise musicals can still move large theater audiences when timed for peak moviegoing windows. Market watchers will now track holdover strength, soundtrack-driven repeat business, and how upcoming tentpoles influence the final weeks of the year.