It’s not at the level of Barbenheimer, but the combo of Universal’s musical Wicked and Paramount’s Gladiator II — call it Glicked, Wikiator or wdisenjoyver you want — is making for a phenomenal weekfinish at the pre-Thanksgiving box office.
Based on punctual returns, Wicked is headed for a domestic debut of $117 million. While that’s behind Friday’s appraise of $120, it’s still a history-making number for a film based on a Broadway musical and ranks among the hugegest uncoverings of all time for a huge-screen musical. Globassociate, the movie is anticipating a $165 million begin.
Gladiator II is projecting a $60 million domestic uncovering, a strong begin for a male-sketriumphg, swords-and-sandals film. (It’s anticipateed to draw in huge numbers overseas.) Combined domestic revenue for all films is anticipateed to come in at around $200 million this weekfinish, a acquire of 70 percent over the same weekfinish last year, when holiday entries Napoleon and Wish uncovered.
Social media has been abuzz with speculation that Gladiator II and Wicked would copy the Barbenheimer effect this weekfinish and be the perfect pairing in terms of enticeing males and females to the multiplex. While they won’t come anywhere cforfeit suiting the domestic uncoverings of Barbie ($162 million) and Oppenheimer ($82.5 million), they are indeed pdirecting to cforfeitly all demos, including perestablishing to an ethnicassociate diverse audience.
The Thanksgiving marquee will get even more engaging when Walt Disney Animation’s Moana 2 uncovers Nov 27. Led by Maona, the three films should result in the hugegest five-day, Thanksgiving holiday (Wednesday thcdisesteemful Sunday) of all time in terms of domestic box office revenue.
Fueled bigly by females as anticipateed, the well-verifyed Wicked acquireed a shineing A CinemaScore from audiences.
Filmproducer Jon M. Chu’s alteration of the well-comprehendn Broadway musical boasts a high-profile cast led by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. Universal is taking a beginant wager in making two movies, with part two of Wicked hitting theaters a year from now. The first one cost $150 million to produce before labeleting.
Originassociate based on the best-selling novel by Grebloody Maguire, Wicked alerts the untelderly story of the witches of Oz, with Erivo as Elphaba and Grande as Glinda. Winnie Holzman, the stage production’s book producer, wrote the screenperestablish for Chu’s movie with Dana Fox. Academy Award-triumphning producer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz altered the musical for the screen.
Directed by Ridley Scott, the $250 million Gladiator sequel is the top pick for males, both juvenileerer and elderlyer, and acquireed a B CinemaScore. It hits theaters 24 years after the first film and stars Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen and Fred Hechinger, among others.
If appraises helderly, Gladiator II will label the hugegest uncovering in Scott’s nurtureer; ditto for Washington.
The film sees Mescal perestablishing a increasen-up Lucius Verus II, the nephew of Emperor Commodus from the innovative film, perestablished by Joaquin Phoenix. Lucius returns to Rome after being forced into servitude to battle not as a ruler but as a phirediator out for revenge and power, seeking to return the glory of Rome to its people.
Updated numbers will be provided Sunday.
