Universal's 'Wicked' and Paramount's 'Gladiator II' combine for a record-breaking weekend at the box office, invigorating the industry and leading to one of the busiest moviegoing weekends of the year.
- November 25, 2024
AceShowbiz - The lavish musical adaptation "Wicked", starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, debuted with a staggering $114 million domestically and $164.2 million globally. It's the biggest opening weekend for a Broadway musical adaptation and ranks among the year's top debuts.
"Gladiator II", the sequel to Ridley Scott's 2000 best picture winner, opened with a strong $55.5 million in ticket sales. The $250 million production represents a bold bet by Paramount Pictures to revisit the Colosseum with a new cast led by Denzel Washington and Paul Mescal.
The collision of these two films has drawn comparisons to the "Barbenheimer" effect of last year, when "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" launched simultaneously. This time, the nickname "Glicked" has emerged, although the cultural imprint is less significant.
"Wicked" and "Gladiator II" split the audience along gender lines, with "Wicked" attracting primarily female viewers and "Gladiator II" skewing towards males. However, the combined box office revenue of nearly $270 million has brought much-needed resurgence to theaters, which have been struggling lately.
Massive marketing campaigns paved the way for the opening weekend success. "Wicked" partnered with numerous brands, while "Gladiator II" ran its trailer on thousands of platforms simultaneously.
"This weekend's two strong openers are invigorating a box office that fell apart after a good summer," said David A. Gross, a film consultant.
"Wicked" has earned mostly stellar reviews and is expected to be a contender for best picture at the Academy Awards. The producers have already filmed the second part, which is due out next November.
"Gladiator II" has also received positive reviews, particularly for Washington's performance. However, weaker audience scores may be offset by robust international sales.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Chris Evans' action-comedy "Red One" landed in third place with $13.3 million. At a production cost of $250 million, "Red One" is the season's biggest flop but could recoup some value through streaming.
Top 10 of North American Box Office (Nov. 22-24, 2024):
- "Wicked" - $114 million
- "Gladiator II" - $55.5 million
- "Red One" - $13.3 million
- "Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin." - $5.1 million
- "Venom: The Last Dance" - $4 million
- "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever" - $3.5 million
- "Heretic" - $2.2 million
- "The Wild Robot" - $2 million
- "Smile 2" - $1.11 million
- "A Real Pain" - $1.1 million
