Wicked Enchants Audiences, Tops Gladiators II at the Box Office

Movie fans had an exciting weekend as Wicked and Gladiator II both released over the weekend. Both movies garnered whopping numbers at the box office in North America.

In first place, Wicked (part one of a two-part movie adaptation) earned $114 million from 3,888 theaters over the weekend, according to Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. Gladiator II, meanwhile, made $55.5 million from 3,573 cinemas, the outlets said.

 Per Variety, Wicked is now the best opening for a Broadway film adaptation, a record previously held by Into the Woods (2014). It also marked the third biggest domestic debut for 2024 behind Deadpool & Wolverine ($211 million) and Inside Out 2 ($154 million).

“Wicked” (dir. Jon M. Chu). Starring Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba Thropp, aka the Wicked Witch of the West, and Ariana Grande as Galinda Upland, aka Glinda the Good Witch is the long-awaited film adaptation of the popular Broadway stage musical.

“Gladiator II” (dir. Ridley Scott) takes place 16 years after the death of Maximus in the original “Gladiator” (2000), which won five Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor (Crowe), Best Costume Design, Best Sound, and Best Visual Effects. Paul Mescal now plays Maximus’ son Lucius, while Connie Nielsen reprises her role as Lucilla from the first film.

The opening weekend of both highly anticipated films prompted widespread comparisons to last summer’s “Barbenheimer” phenomenon, when “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” created an unprecedented box office event as well as a cultural moment unlike any other. Nicknamed ‘’ Glicked” Gladiator II’’ and ‘’Wicked’’ didn’t quite replicate the magic of “Barbenheimer,” according to Shawn Robbins, founder of Box Office Theory and director of analytics at Fandango.

The second part of wicked is expected to be released in November 2025.