Wicked
The simultaneous release of bothWickedandGladiator IIat the box situation in November 2024 has proven to be the cinematic event of the twelvemonth . " Glicked " is rivaling last twelvemonth ’s " Barbenheimer " phenomenon with two entirely different projects finding Brobdingnagian succeeder in different ways . The two celluloid have been endlessly liken thanks to their same - twenty-four hour period release , although the projects themselves could n’t be more dissimilar . However , thebox role figures ofWickedandGladiator IIhave already proven a " winner " of sorts .
BothWickedandGladiator IIwere hugely anticipated firing , the former because of how widely beloved the original Broadway production is , the latter because of how critically spat its Academy Award - winning herald was . They both had precedents to live up to , and while one has found more commercial-grade winner than the other , it ’s tough to deny that either project has n’t lived up to the huge expectations placed upon it . It wasa loge situation battle to rival Barbenheimer , and the result is quite surprising .
Wicked vs. Gladiator 2: Opening Weekend Box Office Numbers Compared
Wicked Has Made More Money Domestically On Its Opening Weekend
The first metric to liken betweenWickedandGladiator IIis their opening move weekend box office figure , which clearly show thatWickedwas the more lucrative belongings in the daytime following its release . In the U.S.,Wicked ’s opening weekend take $ 114 millionto theaters , whileGladiator IIgrossed $ 55.5 domestically ( viaBox Office Mojo ) . While these are both potent figures that reflect the labor ' various popularity , the former ’s act are on racecourse to be some of the yr ’s highest lucre .
Wicked is base on the cosmos in The Wizard of Oz , but the new musical is unlike from the original pic and volume in several noteworthy ways .
Naturally , this is just in the U.S.Gladiator IIopened a week in the first place thanWickedin other parts of the globe , and their ecumenical loge spot intakes generally show a dissimilar trend . Wickeddrew in an extra $ 50 millioninternationally , whileGladiator IImade $ 165 million in twice the amount of clip . This brings their oecumenical figures to $ 164 million forWickedand $ 221 million forGladiator II.However , this is n’t as clear of a comparison given the scattered expiration .
Wicked’s Reviews & Audience Reception Were Way Better Than Gladiator 2
Rotten Tomatoes Has Crowned Wicked The Weekend’s Victor
Beyond commercial-grade winner , both film are to be measured by their critical winner , both from professional critic and ecumenical audiences . OnRotten Tomatoes , Wickedholds a 97 % audience score and a 90 % critic tally , which is the highest in a long clip for a mainstream film melodious . Wicked ’s Rotten Tomatoes account is hugely telling , evidence that audiences have immediately fallen in love with the adaption . The 97 % audience grade is even stronger than the classicThe Wizard of Oz ’s evaluation , even if the critics do n’t quite agree .
To compare , Gladiator IIcurrently has an audience score of 84%,with critic give the motion picture an even dispirited 72 % . This clearly does n’t matchWicked ’s number , suggesting that while the movie has performed well commercially , people have n’t been enjoying the project as much as John M. Chu ’s musical . But Rotten Tomatoes is n’t everything : the film have also been rated on CinemaScore , withWickedreceiving a resounding A andGladiator IIbeing relegate to a B.
Wicked Became More Of An “Event” Than Gladiator 2
The Marketing Team For Wicked Has Caused A Social Media Storm
Wicked ’s superior carrying into action is partially a result of its more eventful releaseand marketing strategy . There have been countless field events that encourage the hearing to prune up , sing along to the music , and apportion their thought on social metier with their Quaker . It ’s been a huge cinematic event , which is n’t something that can quite be said aboutGladiator II . Much of this comes down toWicked ’s more general appeal , which includes children and younger family , whereasGladiator IIis a more serious play aim at honest-to-goodness audiences .
Deadlinehas report thatWicked ’s social media stats reached over 960 million evenbeforethe film ’s release , which is almost three multiplication whatGladiator IImanaged .
Wickedis also occupy with Easter eggs toThe Wizard of Oz , which appeals to an audience ’s sentience of nostalgia and makes it easier to enjoy . The original film is an undeniable classic , so it ’s no surprise that audiences have been discussing its prequel so widely and give it so many social medium depression . Deadlinehas reported thatWicked ’s social media stats get to over 960 million evenbeforethe cinema ’s press release , which is almost three times whatGladiator IImanaged .
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Wicked Targeted A Bigger Audience Than Gladiator 2
The Wicked Musical Is A More Accessible Movie
A vast reason forWicked ’s box office achiever is that it ’s aim towards a more universal hearing . This factor is very reminiscent ofBarbie ’s success in the Barbenheimer conflict of 2023 : there are n’t many movies that intelligibly commercialize themselves towards a female audience , so when a celluloid get along that ’s unapologetically pink and stereotypically feminine , it be given to be a gravid success .
Additionally , Gladiator II is cursed by its R valuation , which prevented many younger audiences from follow it .
Gladiator IIis a much less accessible film , and it only appeals to those who ’ve already seen ( and love ) the original film . It ’s a clear-cut subsequence that demand some knowledge of the first movie to be enjoyed , whereasWickedis an extremely approachable project that does n’t require any anterior knowledge , and whose medicine can appeal to anybody . Additionally , Gladiator IIis cursed by its universal gas constant valuation , which prevented many younger audience from view it .
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.
Wicked Will Likely Have A Longer Box Office Run Than Gladiator 2
Movie Musicals' Success Tends To Last Longer
Judging by the typical trends of how musicals perform at the box office , Wicked ’s opening weekend will only constitute a small share of its commercial intake . Movie musical tend to have much longer leg than regular release , as audiences may return to hearWicked ’s iconic songsagain or experience the immense musical numbers that do n’t have the same impact on a modest blind . There ’s plenty of case law for this trend in the past tense , with movies likeThe Greatest Showmandisplaying immense longevity that continued for months after their release .
prizefighter 2 takes a number of elements straight off from the original movie , from character archetypes , tale arc , and unmediated references .
However , that ’s not to say thatWickeddoesn’t have competition come . Whilethe impending holiday season could prove good toWicked ’s box position run , it ’s also one of the busy times of the twelvemonth for newfangled releases , which could easy take away from the audience come back to experienceWickedagain . The film will have to swear strongly on its societal media marketing scheme and existing word - of - mouth to continue thriving at the box office .
Wicked & Gladiator 2 Are Both On Track To Be Box Office Successes
Despite Their Competition, Both “Glicked” Films Are Having An Excellent Performance
finally , barring the rival , bothWickedandGladiator IIare set to be huge successes at the box bureau . They ’re both on racecourse to outperform their budget by several orders of magnitude and do well than either project could have anticipated . Whileit ’s easy to letWickedovershadowGladiator II , the latter ’s numbers would have been an enormous winner on any other weekend .
Gladiator II ’s box bureau demolish recordsinternationally , and much of its success could actually be credited to the ongoing competition withWicked . It ’s the same phenomenon that was seen with Barbenheimer in 2024 : having two popular picture show unloose on the same weekend can actually assist make an outcome of sorts that increases both of their commercial intake . The competition drives audiences to the theaters and get people concerned in motion picture that they otherwise would n’t manage for .
Source : Box Office Mojo , Rotten Tomatoes , Deadline
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terrible adapts the Broadway musical into a two - part film , following the unlikely friendly relationship between Elphaba , deliver with green skin , and Glinda , a popular aristocrat , in the Land of Oz . As they navigate their contrasting path , they evolve into Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West .
prizefighter 2 is the follow - up to Ridley Scott ’s award - winning film Gladiator from 2000 . George C. Scott bring back to direct the sequel , with Paul Mescal staring as Lucius , alongside Denzel Washington and Joseph Quinn as the villain Emperor Geta . Gladiator 2 had been stuck in development underworld for years before a script written by David Scarpa at last go forward .
Gladiator 2 is the follow-up to Ridley Scott’s award-winning film Gladiator from 2000. Scott returns to direct the sequel, with Paul Mescal staring as Lucius, alongside Denzel Washington and Joseph Quinn as the villain Emperor Geta. Gladiator 2 had been stuck in development hell for years before a script written by David Scarpa finally moved forward.
