Elphaba and Glinda have changed the box office, at least for this weekend.
“Wicked: For Good,” the conclusion of Universal Pictures’ two-part film franchise, grossed nearly $150 million this weekend in the U.S. and Canada, marking the second-biggest domestic opening of the year, trailing only the blockbuster hit “Minecraft.” Movie”. The film grossed approximately $226 million worldwide.
According to EntTelligence, Wicked: For Good's opening weekend audience was even more female (69%) than the first film's, where 61% of the audience was female.
Lionsgate's Now You See Me: Now You Don't finished second at the domestic box office with $9.1 million. Over two weekends, the third installment in the illusionist franchise grossed a total of $36.8 million in the US and Canada and a total of $146.2 million worldwide.
Disney's 20th Century Studios' “Predator: Badlands,” Paramount Pictures' “The Running Man” and Searchlight Pictures' “Rental Family” round out the top five films this weekend.
The film, directed by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, was supported massive marketing ploy it started early last year, before the first Wicked movie even debuted. Although the films are based on a popular Broadway play, Universal wanted to expand awareness of the story in markets that were less exposed to theatrical representation.
As a result, the franchise has partnered with more than 100 brands, including toy companies such as Lego and Mattel, as well as more unlikely firms such as home goods giant P&G and Asian online supermarket Weee!, where director Jon M. Chu is chief creative officer.
The film's opening weekend success also points to demand for female-centric franchises.
After 2023's Barbie grossed $1.4 billion worldwide, there were countless calls more women-oriented films. But this year, many big-budget films have been aimed at men, and weaker box office returns have raised questions about whether the films are reaching every possible demographic.
“Women continue to be an underserved audience,” said Sean Robbins, director of film analytics at Fandango and founder of the website Box Office Theory. “As far as big blockbusters go, it's been a minute since there's been a female-led film of the caliber of Wicked or Lilo & Stitch.
