Wicked: For Good cast a massive spell on moviegoers this weekend, opening with a projected $150 million to easily top the box office.
The second part of director Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of the popular Broadway musical scored the second-best domestic debut of 2025 after A Minecraft Movie, which opened in April with $163 million.
Wicked: For Good played in 4,115 locations across the U.S. and Canada this weekend, for a jaw-dropping per theater average of $36,452, box office tracking company Comscore reported Sunday.
Overseas, the film earned another $76 million for a global total of $226 million.
Related: ‘Wicked: for Good’ Trailer Shows Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande Returning to Face Consequences
The movie-musical smashed the domestic record for the biggest opening ever of a Broadway movie adaptation, surpassing its predecessor Wicked, which opened with $112 million opposite Gladiator II in November 2024.
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo lead the cast. Grammy and Tony Award winner Erivo plays Elphaba, a witch who is ostracized for her green skin. Grammy winner Grande portrays Glinda, a popular young woman who has yet to discover her true heart.
Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends at Comscore, said the film gave theaters a much-need financial boost.
“After an incredibly challenging post-summer period for movie theaters and a decade’s low month of October, this $150 million domestic debut over-performance by Wicked: For Good proves that when you have an appealing movie franchise, plus a perfectly pitched marketing campaign, and an optimal release date, the sky’s the limit,” Dergarabedian told Urban Hollywood 411 Sunday.
Dergarabedian noted executives at Universal Pictures are likely smiling because Wicked: For Good scored the studio’s second highest opening weekend tally of all-time, behind only 2015’s Jurassic World.
Audiences loved the film and gave it an “A” CinemaScore in exit polling.
Critics only handed the film a 70 percent score out of 100 on Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus saying the movie musical’s “darker tone and unhurried pacing sometimes get in the way” of the story.
Moviegoers obviously disagreed with the criticism, and eased on down the yellow brick road to see the film.
Elsewhere this weekend, heist film Now You See Me: Now You Don’t came in a distant second place with $9.1 million.
Science fiction action film Predator: Badlands took third place with $6.2 million in its third week in theaters.
The Running Man stumbled to fourth place with $5.8 million in its second weekend, continuing a disappointing run. The action thriller starring Glen Powell, Colman Domingo, and Josh Brolin has a domestic total of $27 million against a reported $110 million budget.
English language Japanese dramedy Rental Family, starring Brendan Fraser, Takehiro Hira, and Mari Yamamoto opened in fifth place this weekend with $3.3 million.
Take a look at the box office chart below from Comscore.
Check out our @Comscore @csMoviesUS @CSGlobalMovies Domestic Weekend To 10 Estimates! Please note this weekend’s overall total 3-day Domestic box office is at an estimated $185.5M & YTD 2025 (now at $7.492B through Sunday) is now up 3.3% vs. 2024. @wickedmovie @jonmchu… pic.twitter.com/llyy112r0t
— Paul Dergarabedian (@PDergarabedian) November 23, 2025
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