Lyles Movie Files
wicked's box office debut was magical
Box office roundup

Wicked’s magical $114M opening, Gladiator II snares $55.5M

Jeffrey Lyles , , ,

Expectations were high for The Wizard of Oz Broadway adaptation, but Wicked’s box office debut far exceeded them.

Wicked’s $114M opening was good enough for the third best debut of 2024 trailing only Deadpool & Wolverine with $211 million and Inside Out 2 at $154 million.

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande made beautiful box office music thrilling critics, who gave Wicked a 90% score, and audience who gave it an A on CinemaScore.

Wicked’s major competition for the box office crown next week is Moana 2, which is another family-focused film that will benefit from being the newest film to arrive on Thanksgiving weekend.

Wicked’s fellow newbie, Gladiator II, also had an impressive opening with $55.5 million. Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington star in this sequel to the Russell Crowe Best Picture Oscar winner in 2000. The film had a sizable budget at $250 million and another $100 million in promotional advertising costs.

While doing solid business domestically, Gladiator II is doing even bigger at the global box office with $221 million. Thanks to the global market, Gladiator II should end up making a solid profit when its box office run is completed.

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Coming in at third place was Red One with $13.3 million. That takes the Dwayne Johnson/Chris Evans holiday action comedy’s total haul to $52.9 million and $117 million worldwide.

Another new release was Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin., a film looking at the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The drama, which opened in 1,900 theaters had a decent haul at $5.1 million that offsets its $2.3 million budget.

Rounding out the Top 5 was Venom: The Last Dance, which brought in another $4 million to add to its $134 domestic haul. Worldwide, the third film in the Venom series has earned $456 million.

Photo Credit: Universal and Paramount Pictures

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