Wicked: For Good opening weekend beats first film
Universal Pictures’ two-part Wicked gambit continues to defy gravity at the box office.
Just a year after the first episode brought audiences in droves to movie theaters across the country, even more people purchased opening weekend tickets to see the epic finale, Wicked: For Good.
In its first day in theaters, Wicked: For Good earned $150 million ($233 million) from North American theaters and $226 million ($350 million) worldwide, according to studio estimates released Sunday.
It’s the biggest opening ever for a Broadway musical adaptation, toppling the record set by the first film’s US$112 million ($A174 million) launch, but it’s also the second-biggest debut of the year behind A Minecraft Movie’s US$162 million ($A251 million).
As with the first film, women made up about 71 percent of ticket buyers on opening weekend, according to PostTrak exit polls. Critics’ opinions of the final episode were somewhat mixed, but audiences were not: An overwhelming 83 percent of viewers said this was an episode they would “definitely recommend” to friends.
Jon M Chu directed both Wicked films starring Cynthia Ervio and Ariana Grande. The first film grossed over US$758.7 million ($1.2 billion) worldwide and received 10 Oscar nominations (winning two for costume and production design).
The question is how high Wicked: For Good can go. The total production cost of the two films is around US$300 million ($465 million), excluding marketing and promotional costs.
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