Box Office: Wicked For Good $30.8 Million in Previews, Highest of Year
“Wicked: For Good” opened with strong preview earnings. The film pulled in $30.8 million before its official launch. This is the highest early total for any movie released this year.
Universal scheduled the screenings across several days. Monday fan showings sponsored by Amazon Prime brought in $6.1 million. Wednesday added another $6.5 million. Thursday pulled the largest share with $18.2 million. The studio included double features of both “Wicked” chapters on Thursday.
Before this, the biggest preview total belonged to “Superman.” That film earned $22.5 million from Thursday screenings alone. It opened with $125 million across its first weekend.
“Wicked: For Good” is expected to open between $150 million and $180 million. If that happens, it will become the biggest opening of the year. The current top figure belongs to “A Minecraft Movie,” which earned $10.6 million in previews and reached a $162 million opening weekend. Universal is staying conservative and projecting a $125 million weekend. Fans remain excited after Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba gained wide popularity last fall.
Jon M. Chu directed the sequel. His first “Wicked” film made $19.2 million in previews last year and reached $112.5 million in its opening weekend. Both movies arrived during the same pre-Thanksgiving period. This year, the cast returns to complete the story set before “The Wizard of Oz.” The lineup includes Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, and Bowen Yang.
The first film helped push the Thanksgiving holiday box office to $420 million last year. The studio hopes for the same strong response again. “Wicked: For Good” brings the story to a close with major fan support, strong early ticket sales, and wide attention driven by its stars and music.
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