Wicked's $226M Opening Stuns Hollywood! What Happens Next Will Shock You!

Well, folks, it looks like audiences are defying gravity! "Wicked: For Good" has officially swept into theaters and conjured up a box office spell, raking in a phenomenal $226 million worldwide during its opening weekend. That's good enough for the fourth-highest opening of the year, a seriously impressive feat in a year packed with blockbusters.

Wicked's $226M Opening Stuns Hollywood! What Happe...

The musical sequel, starring Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, has clearly struck a chord with audiences. The film grossed a substantial $150 million domestically and an additional $76 million internationally, proving its appeal stretches far beyond U.S. borders. This is the kind of news that has studio execs doing happy dances, and rightly so.

To put it into perspective, "Wicked: For Good" is sitting pretty as the fourth-best Hollywood debut globally this year. It trails only the live-action "Lilo & Stitch" remake ($341 million), "Jurassic World Rebirth" ($322.5 million), and "A Minecraft Movie" ($313 million). Pretty stiff competition, but it managed to outshine James Gunn’s DC Universe film "Superman" ($220 million) and Marvel's "The Fantastic Four" ($218 million). A definite victory for the witches of Oz!

And the records didn't stop there. "Wicked: For Good" also smashed the record for the biggest global opening for a Broadway musical adaptation, surpassing its predecessor, last year's "Wicked," which earned $164.2 million globally during its opening weekend. Domestically, it snagged the biggest debut for a Broadway musical adaptation as well, exceeding last year's "Wicked" ($112.5 million). It seems fans were really eager to return to Oz.

Breaking it down even further, "Wicked: For Good" now holds the No. 5 spot among the biggest opening weekends for a musical of all time. It sits behind 2019’s "The Lion King" remake ($433 million), "Moana 2" ($389 million), "Frozen 2" ($358.4 million), and 2017’s "Beauty and the Beast" remake ($357 million). It's in good company!

Considering that last year's "Wicked," also directed by Jon M. Chu, ultimately amassed $758.7 million globally during its theatrical run, "Wicked: For Good" seems poised to potentially outperform its predecessor. It's off to a fantastic start, that's for sure.

Of course, not everyone is completely enamored. IGN's review gave "Wicked: For Good" a 6/10, noting that the film, "has all of the great parts of the first movie — opulent sets, heart-wrenching songs, the perfect lead cast—and all of its problems, too.” It seems like the film, like many sequels, might suffer from some of the same issues as the original.

In other box office news, "Now You See Me: Now You Don’t" has managed to conjure $146.2 million worldwide after two weekends. Dan Trachtenberg’s "Predator: Badlands," after three weekends, stands at $159.6 million. Unfortunately, Edgar Wright’s "The Running Man," starring Glenn Powell, continues to struggle, adding only $5.8 million in its second weekend for a domestic total of $27.048 million. You win some, you lose some, I guess.