From ‘Wicked’ to ‘Moana 2,’ Musicals Are Taking Over the Box Office

It’s been a very musical couple of weekends at the box office, with the release of Wicked followed by Moana 2. And on Dec. 20, Mufasa: The Lion King also arrives in theaters.

Why are all these major musical movies converging at once? On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are talking about how the two movies have dominated at the box office — with the Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo-starring Wicked already becoming the highest-grossing Broadway musical film adaptation domestically in its week-plus in theaters — and how it compares to other recent musical-theater films.

Also on the show, we’ve got chart news on how Kendrick Lamar and the new Wicked soundtrack take over the charts, as the former’s surprise album GNX debuts atop the Billboard 200, while the latter makes a historic arrival on the same ranking. Plus, all 13 songs on Lamar’s album debut on the Billboard Hot 100 — including seven in the top 10, and the entire top five.

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard’s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard’s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s managing director, charts and data operations, Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)