Wickedhas surged past the competition at the worldwide box office. TheWizard of Ozprequel, which was directed by Jon M. Chu, is adapted from the first act of the 2003 Broadway musical of the same name and stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, opposite Ariana Grande-Butera as Galinda, the future Glinda the Good Witch. TheWickedreleasedebuted with a whopping $112.5 million, which was the third highest-grossing opening weekend of the year up to that point.
PerDeadline, as of Sunday morning, theWickedbox office is projected to add $29 million in international markets by the end of its second weekend in theaters. With a cumulative international gross of $97 million and a domestic gross of roughly $262 million, the movie will have hit $359.3 million worldwide within just 10 days. In addition to crossing the $350 million milestone and becomingthe 13th highest-grossing movie of the year so far,the musical has taken just two weekends to surpass more than a dozen major 2024 hits on the worldwide chart for the year.
What This Means For Wicked
The Top 10 Is In Its Sights
By hitting this milestone so quickly, theWickedbox officehasflown into the Top 15 of the year without breaking a sweat. Many of the movies that it has already outgrossed are considered hits, and in many cases substantially so, considering their lower budgets. This roster includes the Osgood Perkins serial killer thrillerLonglegs, which cost less than $10 million and grossed more than $125 million. Below, see a breakdown of select 2024 hits thatWickedhas already outgrossed and where they rank on the overall chart for the year:
#13
$359.3 million
#14
$350.8 million
#15
$350.1 million
#16
$321.6 million
#18
$261.8 million
#19
$234.4 million
#24
$180.8 million
#26
$152.7 million
#28
$137.6 million
#30
$126.9 million
#33
$104.8 million
#39
$88.3 million
#43
$76.7 million
#46
Night Swim
$54.8 million
This chart does not even include notable movies that had high grosses in a vacuum but most likely failed to hit their break-even points such as the big-budget moviesMadame Web,Argylle,Joker: Folie à Deux, andFuriosa: A Mad Max Saga. Given its current trajectory, it seems highly likely that theWickedmoviewill join the Top 10 of the year before long. Althoughthere are still several major blockbusters yet to come in 2024, it seems highly likely that it will obtain and keep a spot on the chart by the end of the year.
Our Take On The Wicked Worldwide Box Office
The Domestic Market Is Helping It Thrive
One notable aspect of the success ofWickedis the fact that its box office success is not being bolstered by international markets, which is typically the case for a Top 10 movie in the modern era. The movie musical has earned less than half of its domestic gross in international theaters, showing that the movie is a homegrown hit even if theWizard of OzandWickedIPs hold less sway overseas.
Wicked
Cast
Wicked adapts the Broadway musical into a two-part film, following the unlikely friendship between Elphaba, born with green skin, and Glinda, a popular aristocrat, in the Land of Oz. As they navigate their contrasting paths, they evolve into Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
