Wicked is that girl at the weekend box office

Wicked and Gladiator led the biggest pre-Thanksgiving box office since the pandemic.

By Emma Keates  |  November 25, 2024 | 9:36am
Photo: Universal Pictures
Film News Box Office
Wicked is that girl at the weekend box office

It’s not quite Barbenheimer, but this year’s pink-and-black portmanteau, Glicked, still made some magic at the box office. After some dire weeks led by titles like Venom: The Last Dance and Red One, Wicked proved that—when it comes to ticket sales—it really is very shrewd to be a very very popular theater property with huge names in the leading roles and a completely inescapable advertising push. The Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande-led adaptation flew into the running with a massive $114 million opening. The film also conjured up an additional $50.2 million internationally, easily clearing the bar for most successful Broadway opening ever (via Deadline). The title was previously held by Les Misérables with $103 million internationally in its first weekend.

Gladiator II didn’t do badly for itself in the arena either. Ridley Scott’s sword-and-sandal sequel fought to an impressive $55.5 million, which Deadline notes is the biggest-ever opening for a November R-rated film. (The previous title-holder on that one was 8 Mile in 2002.) 

These aren’t Barbenheimer numbers, but it’s possible that nothing will ever be totally comparable to that phenomenon again—it’s hard to beat the more organic, community-driven event. (Take note, lookalike contests two through infinity.) Barbie and Oppenheimer brought in a combined $235.5 million last year while Glicked’s (domestic) count is $169.5 million. Still, movie theaters have a lot to rejoicify about. According to the trade, this is the biggest pre-Thanksgiving weekend “hands down” since the pandemic, and is only subject to grow once Moana 2 sails into the mix on Wednesday. Now that’s something to sing about. 

You can check out the full top 10, courtesy of Box Office Mojo, below:

Wicked, $114,000,000
Gladiator II, $55,500,000Red One, $13,285,603
Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin., $5,120,013
Venom: The Last Dance, $4,000,000
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, $3,500,000
Heretic, $2,233,198
The Wild Robot, $2,000,000
Smile 2, $1,110,000
A Real Pain, $1,109,000

 
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