Universal’s “Wicked” is off and flying at the box office, earning $19 million from three days of preview screenings.
Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of the hit Broadway musical is on course for a $100 million-plus opening, easily setting a new record for Broadway adaptations. The preview screening total includes $11 million from Thursday night previews, as well as $5.7 million from Wednesday night and $2.5 million from Monday screenings exclusively for Amazon Prime subscribers.
“Wicked” is the first of a two-part series from Chu and Universal, with each film sporting a $150 million production budget before a costly global marketing campaign. But that campaign is paying off as critics and audiences alike are raving over the film with Rotten Tomatoes scores of 90% critics and 98% audience, giving it the word of mouth that it will need to withstand the audience hype for Disney’s “Moana 2” on Thanksgiving weekend.
Meanwhile, Paramount’s “Gladiator II” put up a respectable $6.5 million from 3,200 locations on Thursday night, as it looks to bring out male audiences — particularly older ones — who are more interested in seeing sword fights than musical numbers.
The sequel to Ridley Scott’s Oscar-winning Roman epic has received mostly positive reviews with a 72% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes. It is currently tracking for a $65 million opening against a reported $250 million budget. Paramount is expecting continued support from overseas markets, having already earned more than $100 million in the first week of international play.
“Wicked: Part One” and “Gladiator II” are now in theaters.
