‘Wicked’ and ‘Gladiator II’ give the box office a much-needed boost

Following a sluggish year at the box office, “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” opened this weekend with combined earnings of $270 million internationally, providing the box office with much-needed rejuvenation as the busiest moviegoing weekend of the year, per Box Office Mojo.
“Wicked” dominated the box office this weekend with a domestic opening of $114 million, ranking it the third-highest domestic opening of this year — behind “Inside Out 2″ and “Deadpool & Wolverine,” per Variety. It is also the highest-performing debut for a Broadway adaptation ever.
Dragging behind with a domestic opening of $55.5 million is Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II,” slightly underperforming against the sequel’s predicted opening of $60 million, per The Hollywood Reporter. “Gladiator II” performed almost equally well overseas, raking in $50.5 million over the weekend internationally.
“Moviegoers and box office pundits have been waiting for this weekend, and no one is disappointed,” said Chris Aronson, president of distribution for Paramount Pictures, per USA Today.
“Wicked” and “Gladiator II” box office sales are promising heading into Thanksgiving weekend, which will be boosted by the opening of “Moana 2″ on Wednesday. “Moana 2″ is tracking to earn between $125 million and $150 million during it first five days in theaters, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
Holiday weekends have produced bleak results at the box office all year. This Memorial Day weekend box office was the worst in nearly 30 years, as previously reported by Deseret News. If the box office performs over Thanksgiving, it could produce record numbers.
“The ingredients for what could be one of the most important and essential Thanksgiving holiday corridors in box office history are being combined to serve up a veritable feast of high calorie cinematic treats to a hungry moviegoing public that will finally bring some excitement to what has been a rather disappointing post-Labor Day moviegoing marketplace,” Comscore chief box office analyst Paul Dergaragedian told The Hollywood Reporter.
In Summer 2023, “Barbenheimer” — a nickname given to the shared release date of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” — smashed at the box office. This year brings “Glicked” to audiences, both “Gladiator II” and “Wicked” opened in theaters on Nov. 22.
“Ever since ‘Barbenheimer,’ the whole industry and everyone is just looking for the next mashup that we can put together, and this weekend offered that up,” Dergarabedian told NBC News.
In July 2023, “Barbenhemier” smashed at the box office with combined earnings of $244 million domestically opening weekend. “Barbie” alone made $150 million at home opening weekend, per AP News.
“Glicked” fell slightly short of the “Barbenhemier” standard. Together, “Gladiator II” and “Wicked” made $165.5 million at the domestic box office this weekend.