Universal‘s Thanksgiving tentpole Wicked: For Good soared to a huge $30.8 million in previews at the domestic box office, the best showing of the year and ahead of the first installment last year, which bewitched moviegoers with $19.2 million in previews.
In terms of the breakdown for Wicked: For Good, Monday Amazon Prime screenings kicked in $6.1 million from 1,050 theatres, followed by $6.5 million from Wednesday advance screenings in 2,300 locations. Double feature and standard previews began Thursday, generating a total gross of $18.2 million from 3,350 cinemas.
Wicked: For Good all but guaranteed to bring the struggling box office back to life with a record-setting opening weekend in the $125 million-plus range domestically and north of $200 million worldwide. That would be the best start for a Broadway musical adaptation ever. The studio, in trying to manage expectations, has said anything more than $115 million in North America would be a huge victory.
Wicked: For Good is the second title in filmmaker Jon M. Chu‘s ambitious big-screen adaptation of the iconic Broadway musical and book about the untold story of the witches of Oz. Ariana Grande stars as Glinda the Good Witch and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West.
Advance ticket sales are through the roof for the latest Wicked following a deluge of promotions that commenced Oct. 8, including the film teaming up with Dancing With the Stars for a full-episode integration that featured Chu as guest judge, an opening number choreographed by Christopher Scott and more. The episode resulted in Dancing With the Stars securing its most-watched show among the coveted 18-24 age group since 2015, and generated 57 million TikTok views in 24 hours.
That, along with numerous other activations, has resulted in Wicked: For Good becoming Fandango’s top PG-rated preseller of all time, and among its top 10 first days ever. It is also the biggest preseller of 2025 to date.
And, thanks to the early screenings, the film’s audience racking is already 97 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, versus 96 percent for Wicked.
On the same weekend a year ago, the first Wicked made history when debuting to a record-breaking $112.5 million in its three-day debut, the best showing ever for a musical adaptation. It ultimately topped out at nearly $750 million at the worldwide box office, which was likewise the best showing ever for a Broadway musical adaptation, a genre that has been a tough nut for Hollywood to crack.