‘Wicked’ and ‘Gladiator’ make for gravity-defying drama

Article content

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

Jon M. Chu’s big-budget musical “Wicked,” starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, debuted with $114 million domestically and $164.2 million worldwide for Universal Pictures, according to studio estimates Sunday. That 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.

Article content

Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II,” the sequel to his best-picture winning debut in 2000, opened with $55.5 million in ticket sales. With an estimated cost of $250 million to produce, “Gladiator II” was a big bet by Paramount Pictures to return to the Coliseum with a very young cast, led by Denzel Washington and Paul Mescal. Although it opened a touch below the predicted $60 million in domestic ticket sales, “Gladiator II” did well overseas. It added $50.5 million internationally.

The clash of the two movies led to some mention of the “Barbenheimer” effect of last year, when “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” were introduced simultaneously. The nickname this time, “Glicked,” was less popular and the cultural influence was also less. Few people want a double feature at this time. Domestic grosses in 2023 – $162 million for “Barbie” and $82 million for “Oppenheimer” – were also high.

“Glicked” misses “Barbenheimer”

For Universal, which distributed “Oppenheimer” last year, the weekend was a victory for “Wicked” rather than “Glicked.”

Article content

Article content

“We saw an opportunity to dominate the weekend and get off to a great start to the Thanksgiving holiday,” said Jim Orr, Universal’s distribution manager. “We’re really hoping it’ll play funny in the Christmas aisle right through to the New Year.”

But the impact of the counter-programme was still as strong as “Bad” and “Gladiator II,” which also split along gender lines. And it was also a female-leaning release _ “Wicked,” like “Barbie” before it – that easily won the weekend. About 72% of “Bad” ticket buyers were women, while 61% of those who saw “Gladiator II” were men.

“Standing on their own, each of these movies probably made a lot more than they did, but it’s hard to know,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior news analyst for Comscore. “Raising people’s awareness can lead to more boxes. Let’s put it this way: They didn’t hurt at all.”

Big marketing campaigns paved the way for opening weekend

While “Barbenheimer” benefited most from word-of-mouth memes, both “Bad” and “Gladiator II” rely on all aspects of marketing.

Article content

The “Gladiator II” campaign featured everything from the highly controversial promotion of Airbnb and the real Colosseum in Rome to the simultaneous running of a one-minute trailer on more than 4,000 TV networks, radio stations and digital platforms.

The “Bad” invasion continued, with Starbucks themed pink and green “Badly Sweet” drinks, Stanley cups and Mattel dolls (which also led to some negative recalls). Its stars have appeared at the Met Gala and the Olympics.

“We had nearly 400 global brand partners on ‘Ababi,’ so the campaign was inevitable,” Orr said. “And our cast, led by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, worked really hard on this. They were everywhere. They did everything we asked them to do.”

Going into the weekend, the box office is down about 11% from last year and another 25% from pre-pandemic times. That meant that two films in the news this week led to much-needed renewals in theaters. With “Moana 2” released on Wednesday, Hollywood may be looking at record sales for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Both these films picked up the sluggish box office performance

Article content

David A. Gross, film consultant who publishes Franchise Entertainment newspaper, said: “Two strong opening performances this weekend revive the box office that collapsed after a good summer.

Although “Bad” will face direct competition from “Moana 2,” it may be better suited to a longer and more lucrative run in theaters than “Gladiator II.” Although some complained that they were “Bad” for the long running time, at 2 hours and 40 minutes, the film received many positive reviews. Audiences gave it an “A” on CinemaScore. The reception to “Bad” is strong enough that Oscar forecasters expect it to be a best picture contender at the Academy Awards, among other categories.

Producers, perhaps hearing the hit song, also took the initiative to split “Bad” into two. The second part, which is already being filmed, will be released next November. Each installment of “Bad” costs about $150 million to make.

“Gladiator II” also enjoyed positive reviews, especially for Washington’s performance. Audience scores, however, were weak, with ticket buyers giving it a “B” on CinemaScore. The film will make up for some of that, however, with strong international sales. It launched in several international markets last week, and has already amassed $165.5 million worldwide.

Article content

Coming in a distant third place over the weekend was “Red One,” the Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans-turned-action holiday film. In its second week of release, Amazon MGM Studios grossed $13.3 million to bring its two-week worldwide cume to $117 million. At a cost of $250 million to make, “Red One” is the biggest flop of the season, though it may bring back some Amazon value if it becomes more popular once it airs.

The final home statistics will be released on Monday. Estimated ticket sales from Friday through Sunday at theaters in the US and Canada, according to Comscore:

1. “Bad,” $114 million.

2. “Gladiator II,” $55.5 million.

3. “Red,” $13.3 million.

4. “Bonhoeffer: Pastor Spy Assassin,” $5.1 million.

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

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

7. “The Traitor,” $2.2 million.

8. “Wild Robot,” $2 million.

9. “Smile 2,” $1.1 million.

10. “Real Pain,” $1.1 million.

Article content