This weekend’s box office will be a mix of pink and green, with a dash of red.
The combined ticket sales for Universal’s “Wicked” and Paramount’s “Gladiator II,” which open before Thanksgiving, are predicted to exceed $200 million this weekend.
Shawn Robbins, director of analytics at Fandango and inventor of Box Office Theory, stated, “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” are the type of counter-programming pair that movie theaters and consumers have been anxiously expecting.
As usual, the box office has seen its share of ups and downs this fall, but these two movies are poised to launch a potentially historic Christmas season, with “Moana 2” also expected to do well over Thanksgiving next week.
With advance screenings held throughout the week, “Wicked” has already brought in $19.2 million at the domestic box office. On Monday, 750 theaters in the United States distributed $2.5 million to Amazon Prime members, and on Wednesday, about 2,000 cinemas in the United States and Canada contributed an additional $5.7 million. Through regular Thursday night preview showing at almost 3,300 theaters, “Wicked” earned an extra $11 million.
Since late October, tracking estimates for “Wicked” have increased from about $80 million to a range of $120 million to $140 million, with some predicting an even greater three-day total for the movie’s opening weekend.
In recent years, Hollywood has found it difficult to promote and turn a profit on film musicals. Fan-favorite IP-driven games have, nonetheless, also outperformed in the industry. Given that “Wicked” is based on one of Broadway’s most well-known musicals, box office pundits are having difficulty forecasting the film’s performance.
Before its premiere, “Wicked” has a 92% “Fresh” rating from over 160 critics on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes. With almost 2,500 ratings, the website’s popcornmeter, which measures the proportion of confirmed moviegoers who gave the film a rating of 3.5 stars or above, is at 99%.
“Wicked” should premiere as the highest-grossing Broadway adaption in movie history, regardless of how much it brings in throughout the weekend. According to Comscore statistics, the current record holder is Disney’s “Into the Woods,” which made $31 million in its first three days of release in cinemas in 2014.
In the meantime, “Gladiator II” earned $6.5 million from previews on Thursday and is anticipated to boost the domestic weekend total by $60 million to $80 million. With more than 200 reviews, the movie, which comes 24 years after the original, has a 73% “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In contrast, “Gladiator” made $34.8 million on its first weekend of release in May 2000.
The influence of ‘Glicked’
According to Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, “the so-called ‘Glicked’ movie mashup is reminiscent of the ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon and is creating a cultural buzz.”
Although not quite at that level, it has undoubtedly increased both films’ visibility, and when paired with overwhelmingly favorable reviews, it has put these two very different pictures in a position to succeed on opening weekend and—more importantly—play well throughout the holidays.
Box office experts predict a weekend with ticket sales of between $200 million and $250 million between “Wicked,” “Gladiator II,” and previously released movies that are still showing in cinemas. Despite being great, Comscore data indicates that it would still not place in the top 20 highest-grossing weekends ever.
The fourth-highest weekend haul in history, the “Barbenheimer” weekend of July 21, 2023, brought in almost $311 million.
However, Robbins pointed out that it’s not only about the initial hours or days. “These movies have the potential and most likely will continue to do well for weeks to come, particularly if word-of-mouth follows the reactions of critics.”
The entire yearly box office, which is 11% behind 2023 levels for the same time period, will benefit from this weekend’s total. Additionally, moviegoers attending theaters will be exposed to promos for additional films that will be released in December and later in 2025.
Greg Marcus, CEO of Marcus Corporation, which owns Marcus Theatres and Marcus Hotels & Resorts, stated, “Our job is to maximize what’s coming in that door.” “Look after our clients. Make sure the clients that arrive have a wonderful experience.
In order to serve them both physically and symbolically and demonstrate to them how much fun it is to go to the movies and enjoy something with others, we must make sure that lines are moving as fast as possible.
At its sites, Marcus Theatres and hundreds of other movie theater companies, both large and small, are providing patrons with customized popcorn buckets and beverage containers, as well as other movie-related items.
To contain popcorn, Cinemark offers a “Gladiator II” bucket that resembles the Colosseum and a gladiator helmet that fits over its drink cups. Regal’s cup is designed like a witch hat. In addition to a variety of themed drinks including green apple ICEE, Sprite variations like Ozdust Punch and Emerald Elixir, and alcoholic beverages like Popular Pink and Gravity Green, AMC’s menu offers pink and green candy-coated popcorn.
