"Wicked" and "Gladiator II" had their US premieres over the weekend, following a media blitz in which the films' actors sought to recreate the box office success of 2023's "Barbenheimer." "Wicked" brought in $164.2M globally; "Gladiator II"—which premiered a week earlier in some countries—yielded $221M globally to date with $106M over the weekend.
The figures fall below opening weekend yields of "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" but appear on track for healthy sales. "Wicked" broke the record for the best-ever debut for a Broadway musical adaptation, earning $114M domestically. While "Gladiator II" had a weaker box office domestic debut at $55.5M, estimates suggest the film could yield over $740M by the end of its run.
Movies often need to earn roughly 2.5 times their budget to break even—a roughly $375M benchmark for "Wicked" and $575M for "Gladiator II." While box office sales have yet to surpass prepandemic levels, studios expect "Glicked" and other upcoming draws—like "Moana 2"—to power a strong end-of-year showing.
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