Ariana Grande Wicked box office opening

Photo Credit: Universal Pictures

Ariana Grande secures a cool $100 million with Wicked’s opening weekend, though box office revenues remain below expectations.

The biggest films of the season aren’t hitting their projections, but their numbers are still raking in enough dough to keep fat-cat investors (relatively) happy. Universal’s film adaptation of the musical “Wicked” opened to over $114 million — the biggest opening ever for a Broadway film adaptation.

Between “Wicked” debuting at over $100 million and “Gladiator II” bringing in $55.5 million in its opening weekend domestically, the pre-Thanksgiving weekend saw better performance than any other post-pandemic year. In fact, it was on par with the pre-Thanksgiving weekend of 2019 when “Frozen 2” reigned supreme, and the biggest since 2013, when “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” was driving moviegoers to the box office.

In addition to its success as a musical over the last 20 years, “Wicked” was sold heavily on the back of Ariana Grande. According to data from PostTrack, 39% of moviegoers went to see “Wicked” because of the presence of stars Grande or Cynthia Erivo, as opposed to 29% who went because it’s part of an IP they love.

The timing of the release is significant, since movies that open during the Thanksgiving stretch typically draw a bigger crowd. The biggest opening over the five-day Wednesday-to-Sunday Thanksgiving weekend remains Disney’s 2013 “Frozen,” with $93.5 million.

“Once again, it’s clear that when healthy competition meets premium experience, the marketplace thrives, and consumers win. The success of movies like ‘Wicked’ and ‘Gladiator II,’ not to mention hearty pre-sales already for ‘Moana 2,’ demonstrates just how much movie fans of all ages enjoy going to the movies,” said Michael O’Leary, National Association of Theatre Owners President & CEO. “Nothing tops the cinematic experience, and audiences are loving it. This is a tremendous catalyst for a strong box office going into December and the new year.”

For November, “Wicked” ranks as the 10th biggest opening at the domestic box office, while potentially breaking the opening record for a movie based on a Broadway musical. It’s also the third biggest opening this year to date, ahead of Warner Bros’ “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” with $111 million.