Topline
“Wicked: For Good” dominated its opening weekend and grossed an estimated $150 million at the domestic box office, according to early estimates reported by the Hollywood trade publications, turning it into the second-biggest premiere of 2025.
Key Facts
The sequel to last year’s “Wicked” was again directed by Hollywood stalwart John Cho, and also saw the return of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in their roles as Glinda and Elphaba in an adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical.
“Wicked: For Good” easily surpassed the first film’s opening weekend, which grossed about $112.5 million domestically.
“Wicked: For Good” also succeeded internationally, bringing in another $76 million for an overall total of $226 million.
It was still not enough to unseat “A Minecraft Movie” as the most successful opening weekend of 2025—the adaptation of the massively popular video game grossed over $162 million at the domestic box office when it opened in April, eventually grossing more than $950 million worldwide.
The blockbuster musical sequel has received more mixed reviews from critics this time around (earning only a 58 critic score on Metacritic, compared to a 73 for the first installment).
However, “Wicked: For Good” seems to be resonating with audiences—it received an “A” CinemaScore based on polls conducted after screenings, and is getting a 95% approval rating from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.
Key Background
“Wicked: For Good” is the first of several highly anticipated year-end blockbusters that could add some much needed hits to what has been a rather lackluster year at the box office. Box office analysts expect upcoming films including James Cameron’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash” could help drive sales in November and December after a historically bad October. After grossing nearly $31 million on Thursday in early screenings, analysts quickly projected “Wicked: For Good” would be a hit. Some estimates, including those reported by Variety, predicted the film could gross somewhere between $150 million and $180 million in its opening weekend. “Wicked: For Good” opened at 4,115 theaters across the country Friday, grossing about $68.6 million on its opening night alone.
