Wicked and Gladiator II kick off strong in box-office battle
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Side-by-side posters for historical Roman epic Gladiator II and musical movie Wicked on their opening day at the AMC Lincoln Square 13 theatre in Manhattan on Nov 22.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
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LOS ANGELES – Musical adaptation Wicked and action epic Gladiator II generated a combined US$25.7 million (S$34.6 million) from early screenings in America and Canada, setting off the biggest box-office battle since “Barbenheimer” – the 2023 movie phenomenon that saw Barbie and Oppenheimer open on the same day.
Wicked, the first of two Universal Pictures movies based on a beloved Broadway musical, racked up US$19.2 million from shows from Nov 18 to 20, according to studio data released on Nov 22.
Gladiator II, the Paramount Pictures sequel to an Oscar Best Picture winner more than two decades ago, brought in US$6.5 million on its opening day on Nov 21. The sequel is directed by Ridley Scott, who helmed the original movie from 2000.
The sales for what some have dubbed “Glicked” put the movies on pace to fall just behind the Barbie and Oppenheimer face-off in July 2023.
Combined domestic sales for Wicked and Gladiator II are projected to soar as high as US$215 million through Nov 24. Barbie and Oppenheimer pulled in nearly US$245 million combined at domestic theatres during their opening weekend.
The fervour for this weekend’s films is a positive sign for theatre chains such as AMC Entertainment, Cineplex and Cinemark. Movie ticket sales in America and Canada have hovered below pre-pandemic levels as cinemas grapple with competition from streaming and disruptions from Hollywood strikes.
Wicked is based on a long-running Broadway musical inspired by classic story The Wizard Of Oz that tells the tale of a green-skinned student of magic, who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West.
Starring American pop star Ariana Grande and British singer-actress Cynthia Erivo, the movie directed by American Jon M. Chu is projected to lead the domestic box office for the weekend with between US$120 million and US$140 million in sales.
“It’s wrapped in a fairy tale, but the point of it is to dig at real truth,” Chu told Reuters at the film’s premiere in London, when asked about the story’s broad appeal.
Universal, a unit of Comcast, spent roughly $160 million to make the first Wicked movie, a sum that does not include tens of millions more for marketing from a Super Bowl advertisement to hundreds of Wicked products.
In a campaign reminiscent of the hoopla surrounding Barbie, the Wicked tie-ins include drinks at Starbucks, a fashion line at Target and Betty Crocker cupcake mix. Brown shopping bags at Bloomingdale’s department stores were replaced with pink and green.
Given the popularity of the Wicked stage show and the top-tier stars in the movie, “it is not a surprise that it is becoming such a big phenomenon off-screen”, said Maura Regan, president of industry group Licensing International.
The movie is split into two parts and the second Wicked film is scheduled for release in November 2025.
Gladiator II, whose budget was estimated to be more than US$200 million, stars Irish star Paul Mescal, Chilean-American actor Pedro Pascal and American actor Denzel Washington as warriors in ancient Rome in a story set 16 years after the original film. REUTERS
