Wicked smashes records to officially become highest-grossing musical film adaptation of all time
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo attend the “Wicked: Part One” European Premiere at The Royal Festival Hall on November 18, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Lia Toby/Getty Images)
Talk about popular… Wicked has overtaken Mamma Mia! as the highest-grossing film musical adaptation.
Six weeks after its release, Jon M Chu’s movie has taken $634 million (£506 million) worldwide, with $424 million (more than £338 million) of that in the US alone.
The film, which stars Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Bridgerton‘s Jonathan Bailey and Jurassic Park legend Jeff Goldblum, is an adaptation of the Broadway musical which itself was inspired by Gregory Maguire’s novel.
Set in the land of Oz before Dorothy Gale drops in from Kansas, the story follows future wicked witch of the west Elphaba and her friendship with Galinda, who goes on to become Glinda the Good.
The movie’s box-office success comes despite it being banned in certain countries and anti-LGBTQ+ group One Million Moms urging a boycott.
“Attention all parents, One Million Moms needs your help to make sure as many people as possible are aware of Universal Pictures pushing the LGBTQ+ agenda on families,” a statement from the group claimed.
“The musical contains a tremendous amount of witchcraft… and that content prompts most parents to avoid taking their children to see Wicked. But the film also shows not-so-discrete cross-dressing, and men crushing on men, which parents may not expect.”
Kristin Chenoweth, who played Glinda on Broadway, ridiculed the threat of a boycott and pointed out that the group didn’t have one million moms, just a “mere few hundred. Maybe”.
Wicked took $164 million (£130 million) at the worldwide box office over its first weekend, making it the biggest opening for a musical adaptation.
It banked $114 million (£90.6 million) in North America and $50.2 million (£39.7 million) at the international box office. Universal plan to release the film on digital platforms in the UK on Friday (3 January), according to Prime Video.
Here’s how you can watch it.
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