Wicked: For Good Will Save The Box Office With A Magical Opening Weekend
2025 has been a sobering year for Hollywood and anyone who owns a movie theater. The box office has been a real rollercoaster ride, one that is probably never again going to see the highs we experienced in pre-pandemic times. October was as bad as it gets, and we could use a sign of hope for the future. That sign appears to be coming our way soon, as "Wicked: For Good" is going to work its magic on a theater near you.
According to Deadline, the sequel to last year's smash hit musical directed by Jon M. Chu is looking to become a similarly big smash hit, eyeing an opening weekend in the $112 to $115 million range domestically when it arrives on November 21. That would be right in line with the opening weekend posted by 2024's "Wicked," which opened to $112.5 million en route to $756.4 million worldwide.
An opening of that size would easily make it one of the biggest of 2025 so far, trailing only "A Minecraft Movie" ($162.7 million), "Lilo & Stitch" ($146 million), "Superman" ($125 million), and possibly "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" ($117.6 million). Mind you, these are just early estimates. There is reason to believe that the sequel could pick up steam as we head towards Thanksgiving. It's also likely to hang around in theaters through the holiday season. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
The film once again centers on Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande), who are estranged and living with the consequences of their choices. Elphaba is now demonized as The Wicked Witch of the West, living in exile as she continues her fight for the freedom of Oz's silenced Animals, desperately trying to expose the truth she knows about The Wizard (Jeff Goldblum).
Wicked: For Good will prove that two movies are better than one
Mind you, this is just a look at the box office in North America. "Wicked" made more than 37% of its money overseas, so there is still plenty of money for Universal Pictures to look forward to internationally as well. In short, this movie is going to go a long way to help end the year on a better note at the box office. It is sorely needed.
"Wicked: For Good" has played up the "Wizard of Oz" connections in the trailers, which may help bring in more casual moviegoers. It also doesn't hurt that people have had a lot of time to catch up with the first movie on HBO Max and VOD. The potential for a breakout sequel is in the cards. Not to get ahead of ourselves, but that $112 million could be on the conservative side, if all goes well.
The first movie was tracking in the $80 million range before things exploded pre-release. Call me optimistic, but I can see "For Good" doing bigger numbers. Let's not forget that "The Wizard of Oz" has been a smash hit at the Sphere in Las Vegas this year. Things really seem to be working in this movie's favor. Even though Disney has "Zootopia 2" opening just a few days later and figures to be a monster in its own right, last year proved that more than one movie can find relevance over the Thanksgiving holiday.
"Moana 2," "Wicked," and "Gladiator 2" led the biggest Thanksgiving ever at the box office. Could we be in for a similar multi-headed monster this year to help close out November? One can only hope. In the early going at least, it's looking promising.