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With combined ticket sales of $270 million worldwide, “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” breathed new life into a recently depressed box office, making it one of the busiest movie-going weekends of the year. It became one of the.
Wicked, the extravagant big-budget musical directed by Jon M. Chu and starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, will open with $114 million domestically and Universal Pictures will sell it worldwide, according to studio estimates Sunday. The total amount was 164.2 million dollars. This made it the third-biggest opening weekend of the year, behind Deadpool and Wolverine and Inside Head 2. This is also a record for a Broadway musical.
Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II, the sequel to the 2000 Best Picture-winning original, opened with $55.5 million in ticket sales. “Gladiator II,” which cost about $250 million to make, was a big gamble for Paramount Pictures, returning to the Colosseum with a mostly new cast led by Denzel Washington and Paul Mescal. “Gladiator II” opened with domestic ticket sales below expectations of $60 million, but did well overseas. Internationally, it added $50.5 million.
The clash of the two films triggered some echoes of last year’s “Barbenheimer” effect, when “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” were released at the same time. This time, the nickname “Glicked” was not as catchy, and its cultural impression was significantly weaker. Very few people asked for a double feature this time. Domestic box office revenue in 2023 ($162 million for “Barbie” and $82 million for “Oppenheimer”) was also higher.
“Glicked” doesn’t measure up to “Barbenheimer”
For Universal, which distributed “Oppenheimer” last year, this weekend was a victory for “Wicked” over “Glick.”
“We saw it as an opportunity to dominate the weekend and get off to a really big start heading into the Thanksgiving holiday,” Universal distribution chief Jim Orr said. new year. “
But the reverse programming effect remained strong in “Wicked” and “Gladiator II,” which similarly split sharply along gender lines. And it was the female-centric film that easily won the weekend – like “Barbie” before it, “Wicked.” About 72% of “Wicked” ticket buyers were women, while 61% of “Gladiator II” ticket buyers were men.
“If you look at each of these movies in isolation, they might be doing pretty much the same thing, but it’s hard to know,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore. “Increasing awareness certainly leads to increased box office revenue. Let’s put it this way: They didn’t hurt each other at all.”
Massive marketing campaign paved the way for weekend opening
“Babenheimer” benefited greatly from word of mouth spread by memes, while “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” both relied on full-scale marketing attacks.
The ‘Gladiator II’ campaign features everything from the much-discussed cross-promotion between Airbnb and Rome’s real-life Colosseum to the simultaneous airing of a one-minute trailer on over 4,000 TV networks, radio stations and digital platforms. It was done.
The Wicked onslaught continued with the arrival of pink-and-green-themed Wickedly Delicious Starbucks drinks, Stanley mugs, and Mattel dolls (some of which led to embarrassing recalls). Its stars have appeared at the Met Gala and the Olympics.
“Wicked had around 400 global brand partners, so the campaign was inevitable,” Orr said. “And the cast, led by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, worked hard on this production. They were everywhere. They did everything we asked them to do.”
Over the weekend, box office receipts were down about 11% from last year and about 25% from pre-pandemic levels. This means this week’s two headline movies bring the long-awaited return to theaters. Hollywood may be anticipating historic sales over the Thanksgiving holiday, as “Moana 2” opens Wednesday.
Two films boosted sluggish box office revenue
“Two strong openings this weekend are reinvigorating a depressed box office after a strong summer,” said David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes the Franchise Entertainment newsletter. Ta.
“Wicked” will face direct competition from “Moana 2,” but it seems poised for a longer and higher-grossing theatrical run than “Gladiator II.” Although some people have criticized Wicked for its long length of 2 hours and 40 minutes, the film has generally received positive reviews. Audiences gave it an “A” on CinemaScore. “Wicked” has been so well received that Oscar forecasters are predicting it to be a contender for the Academy Award and other categories for Best Picture.
Perhaps sensing it was a hit, the producers also took the step of splitting Wicked into two parts. Part 2 has already been filmed and is scheduled to be released in November next year. Each “Wicked” production cost approximately $150 million.
“Gladiator II” also received positive reviews, especially for Washington’s charismatic performance. However, audience scores were low, with ticket buyers giving it a “B” on CinemaScore. However, the film will likely make up for some of that with solid overseas sales. It was released in many international markets a week ago and has already grossed $165.5 million overseas.
In third place for the weekend was “Red One,” a holiday-turned-action film starring Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans. The Amazon MGM Studios release grossed $13.3 million in its second week of release, bringing its two-week global box office total to $117 million. “Red One,” which cost $250 million to make, is the season’s biggest flop, but could regain some value for Amazon if it gains popularity once it starts streaming.
Final national figures will be released on Monday. According to comScore, estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday in U.S. and Canadian theaters are:
1. “Wicked,” $114 million.
2. “Gladiator II,” $55.5 million.
3. “Red One,” $13.3 million.
4. “Bonhoeffer: Pastor Spy Assassin,” $5.1 million.
5. Venom: The Last Dance, $4 million.
6. “The Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever,” $3.5 million.
7. “Maverick,” $2.2 million.
8. “Wild Robot,” $2 million.
9. “Smile 2,” $1.1 million.
10. “A Real Pain,” $1.1 million.
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