AMC Theatres, the biggest circuit globally, posted the highest domestic revenue in its 104-year history for a pre-Thanksgiving weekend counting admissions, food and beverage, and merchandise. The past three days, with the debuts of Wicked and Gladiator 2, the circuit also saw the highest domestic admissions revenue on the weekend before Thanksgiving since 2019, and
Wicked
Before Moana 2 rains a monsoon of cash, Universal’s Wicked will not go quietly in the night. In fact, on Monday the musical starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande was grande indeed with a studio reported $15.8 million box office take. That’s the best Monday ever for November, better than Frozen II ($12.7M on November
EXCLUSIVE: We’re not even past Thanksgiving, and the box office is already busting at the seams. Tonight, I hear that Disney’s PG-rated Moana 2, which started previews at 2PM, is heading to around $12M+ today. That’s a massive Tuesday pre-Thanksgiving preview record for the House of Mouse, beating previous champ, 2018’s Ralph Breaks the Internet
If you were shopping in Target this weekend, you didn’t hear the sound of Christmas carols over the loudspeaker, rather the showstopper “Defying Gravity” from Universal‘s Wicked. But there’s more, for on the main throughfare at the Sunset Blvd location, is a standee of Wicked attire, from slippers to sweatshirts. Meanwhile over at their Starbucks,
In the wake of one of the best pre-Thanksgiving frames in over a decade with Wicked and Gladiator II drumming up a $200M-plus frame, crowded lobbies around the world will remain intact this week as Disney’s Moana 2 joins the fray with what’s expected to be a $225M+, largely day-and-date global opening. That’s just below
Universal has been vindicated, thanks to the witches of Oz and the tenacity of studio chief and top NBCUniversal executive Donna Langley. Over the Nov. 22-24 weekend, director Jon M. Chu’s Wicked opened to an estimated $114 million domestically, the biggest box office launch of all time for a Broadway adaptation in a landslide victory,
Broadway musicals adapted to the screen are an erratic genre at the box office, despite Miramax’s multi-Oscar winning Chicago reviving the long-dormant Hollywood genre back in 2002 with $306.8M WW. Yet for every Les Miserables ($442.7M) hit from Universal, there were massive misfires like Dear Evan Hansen and Cats. This weekend, Universal defied the odds
Wicked movie director Jon M. Chu is encouraging audience members to make an unusual request when they see the film in theaters. Chu, who helmed Universal Pictures‘ feature adaptation of the smash Broadway musical, took to X (formerly Twitter) on the opening evening to post that viewers should ask their theater to increase the volume
UPDATED: Universal’s Wicked is sitting pretty in its global debut, now with a projected $165M through Sunday. As expected, the bulk of the bucks going into the witches’ cauldron is coming from North America, with the anticipated split at $117M domestic and $48M from the international box office. Globally, Wicked will see the biggest opening
It’s a death-defying act to split one property into two movies. Warner Bros did it with the greatest of ease on the final film adaptation of Harry Potter, 2010 and 2011’s Deathly Hallows, which combined grossed $2.3 billion worldwide. However, Lionsgate ran into a buzz saw and tried it with the final Divergent book, Allegiant,
EXCLUSIVE: From New York City to Kansas and onward to the City of Angels, mobs are going to the movies tonight as Universal’s long-awaited Wicked Part One and Paramount’s Gladiator II square off for what is expected to be one of the year’s richest weekends. To date, the biggest weekend for all titles YTD was
Universal’s female Jurassic World movie if you will, the feature take of Broadway musical Wicked, is expected to pull in any every single woman to the tune of a $125M-$150M domestic opening. Add in an extra $40M-$50M from overseas. By every single woman, we mean stateside, in which pre-sales are through the roof. We’re hearing
When it comes to the box office battle between Universal’s Wicked, in which Jeff Goldblum plays the Wizard, and Paramount’s Gladiator II, it will not be a survival of the fittest. Deadline’s Natalie Sitek asked him at Saturday night’s Wicked LA premiere about the Glicked effect that’s expected to take place at the box office
Everyone will begin returning to the movies just before Thanksgiving on November 22 as Universal’s Wicked and Paramount’s Gladiator II just hit tracking with respective openings of $80M+ and $65M. Both have potential for upside, and we won’t know if we’re within a Barbenheimer vortex until it happens — though that would not be a
The strong (well, some of them) got stronger on Broadway last week even as the overall box office trended slightly downward, with 28 productions on the 36-show roster reporting receipt dips. In all, the 36 shows grossed $33,921,069 for the week ending October 27, about 2 percent lower than the previous week’s 35-show roster. Total
Universal‘s massive musical tentpole bet Wicked originally was dated to go head-to-head with Disney Animation’s five-quad movie Moana 2 on Wednesday, November 27, the day before Thanksgiving, but will now go five days earlier on Friday, Nov. 22. A very smart release date change. Both movies are aimed at females. But Wicked counts a fanbase
After lighting up CineEurope with a feast of tulips last year and then again the Caesars Colosseum at CinemaCon in April, Universal returned to Barcelona today with a presentation heavy on its upcoming two-part musical Wicked. The jam-packed show also highlighted its 30-strong film slate and concluded with a surprise first-look at a scene from
One year after Universal Pictures debuted the first look at footage from his upcoming two-part musical Wicked at CinemaCon, Jon M. Chu is heading back to Las Vegas for the National Association of Theater Owners’ official convention. Chu will be the guest of honor at an annual filmmaker luncheon during which he will receive a
In an unusual joint announcement, producers for Broadway powerhouses Hamilton, The Lion King and Wicked said the three shows will resume performances on Tuesday, Sept. 14 – the first day allowed under New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s reopening guidelines announced last week. Tickets are on sale today. All three shows are housed in Nederlander Organization
Last week, Illumination/Universal’s Minions: The Rise Of Gru stepped off of its global release which was previously set for late June in some offshore markets and for July 3 domestically. It has now been scheduled for July 2, 2021, taking the slot that belonged to Sing 2, which in turn is now headed to Christmas