With a $226 million worldwide launch, "Wicked: For Good" is even more popular than the original.

On Monday, November 10, 2025, Cynthia Erivo, director Jon M. Chu, and Ariana Grande pose for pictures as they arrive at the London premiere of the movie "Wicked For Good.

At the box office, Universal Pictures' two-part "Wicked" gamble is still defying gravity. Even more people purchased opening weekend tickets to see the epic climax, "Wicked: For Good," just a year after part one drew large crowds to theaters around the nation. The studio estimated on Sunday that "Wicked: For Good" made $226 million worldwide and $150 million in its first few days in theaters in North America.

In addition to breaking the record set by the first movie's $112 million opening, it's the second-biggest debut of the year, after "A Minecraft Movie's" $162 million, and the largest opening ever for a Broadway musical adaption.

Jim Orr, who oversees Universal's domestic distribution, stated, "The results are just fantastic." "When tickets go on sale early, some movies may give a false positive, but these results speak for themselves."

With previews on Monday ($6.1 million from 1,050 theaters) and Wednesday ($6.5 million from 2,300 cinemas), Universal started releasing "Wicked: For Good" in theaters earlier this week. It had earned $68.6 million by Friday and was performing in 4,115 North American venues. $15.5 million, or 11%, of its domestic revenue came from IMAX screenings, setting a record for the company in November.

The high market share demonstrates that "our momentum carries into demos and genres beyond our traditional core, including families," according to a statement from IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond.

Similar to the first movie, women dominated opening weekend, accounting for about 71% of ticket purchases, according to PostTrak exit surveys. The last chapter caused some controversy among critics, but viewers weren't: Eighty-three percent of viewers indicated they would "definitely recommend" it to friends. In terms of foot traffic, EntTelligence, a box office tracker, predicts that almost 2 million more people attended "Wicked: For Good's" opening weekend than "Wicked."

Cynthia Ervio and Ariana Grande starred in both "Wicked" movies, which were directed by Jon M. Chu. The first movie earned approximately $758.7 million worldwide and was nominated for ten Oscars, two of which it won for production design and costume. How far "Wicked: For Good" can go is the question. The total production cost of the two movies, excluding marketing and promotion expenses, was approximately $300 million.

Orr claimed that "the first film paved the way." "I believe that for a considerable amount of time to come, audiences will be swarming to theaters because it has truly become a cultural event."

This weekend saw the broad release of two more movies, although they were ranked lower on the charts due to a plethora of holdovers. "Rental Family," starring Brendan Fraser, debuted in 1,925 theaters and brought in $3.3 million for Searchlight Pictures. Additionally, 2,222 theaters screened the Finnish action movie "Sisu: Road to Revenge," which was released by Sony. An estimated $2.6 million was earned.

"Now You See Me: Now You Don't" came in second with $9.1 million on its second weekend, and "Predator: Badlands" came in third with $6.3 million. With $5.8 million, "The Running Man" came in fourth, a 65% decrease from its premiere the previous weekend.

The success of "Wicked: For Good" is crucial for the exhibition business as a whole as it approaches the last few weeks of the year, even though this weekend's box office was more of a winner-take-all situation.

Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends at Comscore, stated, "It sets up a very strong final homestretch of the year."

The Thanksgiving blockbusters couldn't come sooner after the sluggish fall season. "Zootopia 2" joins the mix early next week and is anticipated to draw sizable numbers to the movie theater during the holiday season.

According to Dergarabedian, Thanksgiving is frequently one of the busiest times of year for moviegoers, and both "Wicked 2" and "Zootopia 2" will profit. "Wicked," "Moana 2," and "Gladiator II" all contributed to a five-day record last year.

Comscore estimates that the running domestic box office is presently at about $7.5 billion. Prior to the pandemic, the yearly box office would frequently reach $11 billion; however, the post-pandemic target has dropped to $9 billion. The major issue now is whether movies like “Wicked: For Good,” “Zootopia 2” and “Avatar:Fire and Ash” can propel the industry over that threshold.