The cinematic adaptation of Wicked is soaring to even more extraordinary heights, as the movie flew past an impressive $500 million worldwide at the box office this past weekend. With $165 million from international markets alone, the film has now secured the title of the biggest non-sequel release of the year and the second-highest-grossing stage musical adaptation of all time, trailing only Mamma Mia! and overtaking Les Misérables. The movie added another $21.5 million across 81 markets this weekend, which represented a brilliant holding performance. Wicked brought in another $22.5 million stateside, which brought its domestic total to $359 million, giving it a worldwide cumulative total of $525 million.
The movie is a retelling of elements of The Wizard of Oz and tells the story of how Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), who would become the Wicked Witch of the West, ended up being forced down that path. It also explores her friendship with Galinda (Ariana Grande), who would go on to become Glinda the Good Witch of the North.
Is ‘Wicked’ Worth Seeing?
The film has been a smash with critics and looks like it’s going to be one of the leading names in next year’s awards race. Collider’s Jeff Ewing loved what he saw of the first part of the story, and praised the performances of the leading duo. In his review, he wrote:
“Stepping into Oz is as ambitious as it could be perilous, given how widely beloved the best of these prior properties have become. Nonetheless,
Wicked
is
a magical musical outing
, and although it’s the first of a two-parter, it’s a clear success by director Jon M. Chu. While greatly expanding
Wicked
into two parts is a gamble for the whole, this first entry’s script provides a satisfying and well-written character progression for Elphaba and co. as Oz slides ever darker.The film works on an emotional level, and yet there are also well-delivered lessons about growing fascism that are tragically poignant in our American era. The set pieces are big and bold, and the dance numbers are creative and colorful. Grande is continually hilarious as the charmingly vapid Galinda, while Erivo is breathtakingly powerful as the so-called Wicked Witch.
Both Grande and Erivo sound glorious
through beautiful interpretations of modern musical classics like “Defying Gravity.” It all coheres into
one of the best silver screen adaptations of a musical in ages
, and easily one of the year’s best pictures.”
Wicked is still playing in theaters now. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates, and be sure you grab your tickets to see the pop culture phenomenon down below.