Wicked opening set to be biggest for Broadway film

Wicked is projected to person the top-grossing opening play of immoderate Broadway philharmonic adaptation ever successful the UK and Ireland, arsenic good arsenic North America.

The adaptation of the deed philharmonic is expected to rake successful $114m (£90.6m) connected its opening play successful North America, according to information steadfast Boxoffice.

In the UK and Ireland, the movie is forecast to gain $17.6m this weekend, making it the top-grossing opening play of 2024.

In North America, wherever Gladiator II besides opened connected Friday, this was the strongest play astatine the container bureau earlier the Thanksgiving vacation since 2013, Boxoffice said.

Final figures volition beryllium released connected Monday.

The philharmonic Wicked, based connected a publication inventing the backstory of the Wicked Witch of the West, premiered connected Broadway and has been moving connected the West End for 2 decades.

In North America, the movie adaptation raked successful $46.48m connected Friday (the information besides includes Thursday premieres), and $36m connected Saturday.

The assemblage skewed heavy pistillate - 72% - and 67% were implicit the property of 25, which is simply a "massive victory" for Universal, Boxoffice's Daniel Loria said.

The philharmonic had the 3rd biggest opening successful the US this twelvemonth - aft Deadpool & Wolverine with $211m successful July and Inside Out 2 with $154m successful June.

Elsewhere, the soundtrack's hits voiced by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, including "Popular" and "Defying Gravity", person soared into most-played lists connected streaming services.

Also successful North America, different reinvented classic, Gladiator II, pursuing up connected Ridley Scott's 2000 epic, opened this play to $22m connected Friday. It past earned $18.8m connected Saturday.

The sequel is projected to marque $55.5m implicit its opening weekend.

However, Mr Loria predicted that Moana 2, retired connected Wednesday successful the US, could instrumentality the apical spot of the 3 films successful North America.

But with much radical expected to spot Wicked and Gladiator II implicit the vacation week, “we person imaginable of reaching the highest-grossing Thanksgiving play connected grounds successful North America by this clip adjacent week", helium said.

Cinemas successful the US celebrated the show connected Sunday, which comes aft years of disruption from the pandemic. The National Association of Theatre Owners heralded "one of the astir palmy November weekends ever astatine the container office".

In the UK and Ireland, Wicked's opening play was the biggest astatine the container bureau for filmmaker Universal since No Time to Die, the astir caller James Bond instalment it distributed successful 2021.

Gladiator II, meanwhile, opened connected 15 November successful the UK and Ireland.

It made $11.4m connected its archetypal weekend, past dropped to $6m this weekend, a "fairly beardown performance", Mr Loria said.

Together with Paddington In Peru, which earned £9.7m connected its opening play connected 8 November, it’s “one of the astir breathtaking container offices times successful the UK post-pandemic with those 3 titles", helium said.