Reel Rumble: 'Wicked' Spells Box Office Success with $114M, 'Gladiator II' Battles to $55.5M

It's not on Barbenheimer's level, but the combination of Universal's musical Wicked and Paramount's Gladiator II — dubbed Glicked, Wikiator, or whatever you want — resulted in the finest pre-Thanksgiving weekend in more than a decade.

'Wicked', 'Gladiator II.'

Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures; Paramount Pictures

Wicked grossed an estimated $114 million domestically, topping the charts. While it falls short of Friday's forecast of $120 million, it is still a record-breaking sum for a film based on a Broadway production and is among the greatest debuts of all time for a big-screen musical, as well as one of the year's top openers. Globally, the film has grossed $164.2 million.

Gladiator II is expected to launch at $55.5 million domestically, a solid start for a male-skewing, swords-and-sandals film. It is likely to garner a large audience internationally, where it has already made $165.5 million for a total of $221 million.

In North America, total domestic revenue for all films reached over $200 million this weekend, a 70 percent increase over the same weekend last year, when Christmas releases Napoleon and Wish debuted.

Social media has been buzzing with anticipation that Gladiator II and Wicked will repeat the Barbenheimer effect this weekend, making them the ideal combo to draw both men and women to the multiplex. While they will not equal the domestic openings of Barbie ($162 million) and Oppenheimer ($82.5 million), the films do appeal to almost all demographics, including an ethnically varied audience.

The Thanksgiving marquee will become considerably more exciting when Walt Disney Animation's Moana 2 premieres on November 27. The three films, led by the Disney blockbuster, are expected to result in the largest five-day Thanksgiving holiday (Wednesday through Sunday) in terms of domestic box office earnings in history — thus the name "Moanapocalypse."

The well-reviewed Wicked, which was fueled primarily by ladies, received a brilliant A CinemaScore from viewers.

The film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, directed by Jon M. Chu, stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in prominent roles. Universal is taking a big risk by filming two films, with Part 2 of Wicked hitting theaters a year from now. The first one cost $150 million to produce before to marketing.

Wicked, based on Gregory Maguire's best-selling novel, depicts the unseen story of Oz's witches, starring Erivo as Elphaba and Grande as Glinda. Winnie Holzman, the book writer for the stage show, collaborated with Dana Fox to develop the screenplay for Chu's movie. Stephen Schwartz, an Academy Award-winning composer and lyricist, adapted the musical to the cinema.

The $250 million Gladiator sequel, directed by Ridley Scott, is the top pick for guys of all ages and has received a B CinemaScore. It opens 24 years after the first film and stars Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, and Fred Hechinger, among others.

According to estimates, Gladiator II will be Washington's biggest opening since American Gangster (also directed by Scott).

Mescal portrays an adult Lucius Verus II, the nephew of Joaquin Phoenix's Emperor Commodus from the original film. Lucius returns to Rome after being dragged into slavery to combat as a gladiator eager for revenge and power, hoping to return the glory of Rome to its people.

Amazon MGM Studios' Christmas picture Red One slid to fourth place in its third weekend, grossing $13.3 million for a domestic total of $52.1 million and $117.1 million globally against a $250 million budget.