‘Wicked’ and ‘Gladiator’ make gravity-defying theater debuts

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NEW YORK (AP) — With a total of $270 million in ticket sales worldwide, “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” have breathed new life into a box office that has struggled recently, leading to one of the busiest weekends in cinema. this year.

Jon M. Chu’s lavish musical “Wicked,” starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, debuted to $114 million domestically and $164.2 million worldwide for Universal Pictures, according to studio estimates Sunday. This made it the third biggest opening weekend of the year, behind only Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2. It is also a record for a Broadway musical adaptation.

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Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II,” a sequel to his original film that won best picture in 2000, opened to box office sales of $55.5 million. With a production cost of about $250 million, Gladiator II was a big bet for Paramount Pictures to return to the Colosseum with a largely new cast, led by Denzel Washington and Paul Mescal. Although it opened to less than the expected $60 million in domestic ticket sales, Gladiator II performed well overseas. It added $50.5 million internationally.

The collision of the two films led to some echoes of the “Parpenheimer” effect last year, when “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” were released simultaneously. The nickname this time, “Glicked,” was not quite as catchy and the cultural imprint was also noticeably smaller. Few people are looking for a double feature this time. Domestic grosses in 2023 were also higher — $162 million for “Barbie” and $82 million for “Oppenheimer.”

“Glicked” doesn’t live up to “Barbenheimer”

For Universal, which distributed “Oppenheimer” last year, the weekend was more of a triumph for “Wicked” than for “Glicked.”

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“We saw an opportunity to dominate the weekend and get a very strong start on Thanksgiving weekend,” said Jim Orr, Universal’s president of distribution. “We are very confident that it will play ridiculously well over the Christmas corridor and into the new year.”

But the influence of counterprogramming was still strong in Wicked and Gladiator II, which were similarly broadly divided along gender lines. And once again it was the female-leaning version — “Wicked,” like “Barbie” before it — that easily won the weekend. About 72% of ticket buyers for “Wicked” were female, while 61% of those who saw “Gladiator II” were male.

“Each of these films, on their own, may have pretty much done what they did, but it’s hard to know,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at comScore. “Raising awareness can actually lead to an increase in box office. Let’s put it this way: They didn’t hurt each other at all.

Massive marketing campaigns paved the way for the opening weekend

While “Barbenheimer” benefited greatly from widespread word-of-mouth, both “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” relied on extensive marketing campaigns.

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The “Gladiator II” campaign included everything from a controversial Airbnb cross-promotion with the actual Colosseum in Rome to a one-minute trailer running simultaneously on more than 4,000 TV networks, radio stations and digital platforms.

The “evil” attack went even further, with pink and green “evil delicious” Starbucks drinks, Stanley cups and Mattel dolls (some of which led to embarrassing recalls). Its stars have appeared at the Met Gala and the Olympics.

“We had nearly 400 global brand partners on Wicked, so there was no way we could escape the campaign,” Orr said. “Our crew, led by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, worked hard on this. They were everywhere. They did everything we asked them to do.”

Heading into the weekend, the box office was down about 11% from last year and about 25% from pre-pandemic times. This means that the week’s two major films led to a much-needed return to cinemas. With the release of “Moana 2” on Wednesday, Hollywood may be looking at historic sales over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Both films boosted sluggish box office performances

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David A. said: “Two strong openings this weekend are revitalizing a box office that has tanked after a good summer,” said Gross, a film consultant who publishes a newsletter for Franchise Entertainment.

Although “Wicked” will face some direct competition from “Moana 2,” it looks better than “Gladiator II” to last long and profitably in theaters. Although some criticized Wicked for running 2 hours and 40 minutes, the film received mostly excellent reviews. Audiences gave it an “A” on CinemaScore. The reception for Wicked was strong enough that Oscar forecasters predicted it would be a contender for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, among other categories.

The producers, perhaps feeling the blow, also took the step of splitting “Wicked” into two parts. The second part has been filmed and is scheduled to be released next November. Each “Wicked” installation costs approximately $150 million.

“Gladiator II” also received good reviews, especially for Washington’s charismatic performance. However, audience scores were weaker, with ticket buyers giving it a “B” on CinemaScore. However, the film will make up for some of that with strong international sales. It was released in several foreign markets a week ago, and has already grossed $165.5 million internationally.

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In a distant third place over the weekend was “Red One,” a Dwayne Johnson-Chris Evans holiday movie turned action film. In its second week of release, the Amazon MGM Studios release grossed $13.3 million bringing its two-week global total to $117 million. At $250 million, Red One is the season’s biggest flop, though it could recapture some value for Amazon if it becomes more popular once it starts streaming.

Final local figures will be published on Monday. Estimated Friday-Sunday ticket sales at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:

1. “Wicked,” $114 million.

2. “Gladiator II” with $55.5 million.

3. “Red One” with $13.3 million.

4- “Bonhoeffer: Priest Spy Killer,” $5.1 million.

5. “Venom: The Last Dance,” $4 million.

6. “Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” $3.5 million.

7- “The Heretic” movie, $2.2 million.

8. “The Wild Robot,” $2 million.

9. “Smile 2,” $1.1 million.

10. “Real Pain,” $1.1 million.

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