Wicked defeats Gladiator II in theatres as ‘Glicked’ dominates the pre-Thanksgiving weekend box office

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo brought the magic to the big screen as Wicked: Part 1 pummeled rival Gladiator II for the win in a ‘Glicked’ matchup at the US Box Office.

The lavish adaptation of the Tony winning Broadway musical has received high praise from critics, including Daily Mail’s own Geraint Llewellyn, earning 90-percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. 

Fans gave the highly anticipate film, based on the Gregory Maguire novel a warm 97-percent score. 

Set in the land of Oz, Wicked shares the backstory of Elphaba, played by Erivo, 37, known in The Wizard of Oz as the Wicked Witch of the West, portraying her as someone who was an outcast because of her green skin.

Glinda the Good Witch, played by Grande, 31, is portrayed as Elphaba’s bully turned friend from their days as roommates at Shiz University.

The movie earned a record setting $114 million at the US box office, the most for any musical adaptation ever. It conjured up another $50.2 million internationally for a global take of $164,180,000, according to The Numbers. 

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo brought the magic to the big screen in Wicked: Part 1 The musical pummeled rival Gladiator II for the win in a 'Glicked' matchup at the US Box Office

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo brought the magic to the big screen as Wicked: Part 1 pummeled rival Gladiator II for the win in a ‘Glicked’ matchup at the US Box Office

Read More Ariana Grande gushes about her fans before Wicked release article image

The last time a musical did this well in the lead-up to the US Thanksgiving holiday was  2019’s Frozen II. 

Gladiator II, the other newcomer earned less than half as much, but still pulled in a respectable $55.5 million it’s first weekend in theaters.

The action-adventure starring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal and Oscar winner Denzel Washington, scored a tepid 71-percent from the critics on Rotten Tomatoes, with audiences offering a more generous 84-percent approval rating.   

Gladiator II did much better internationally, earning $165.5 million for a first weekend total of $221 million globally. 

The two films together provided 81-percent of ticket sales according to ᴅᴇᴀᴅline.

The last time the combined box office in the pre-Turkey day contest did this well was 2013 when Hunger Games: Catching Fire lead a $226.5 million box office total.

Last week’s number one Red One, dropped to third place.

The new holiday tale starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Chris Evans as bounty hunters hired to rescued a kidnapped Santa Claus, played by JK Simmons found nearly $13.3 million in its stocking for the weekend. 

Wicked: Part 1 earned a record setting $114 million at the US box office, the most for any musical adaptation ever. It conjured up another $50.2 million internationally for a global take of $164,180,000

Wicked: Part 1 earned a record setting $114 million at the US box office, the most for any musical adaptation ever. It conjured up another $50.2 million internationally for a global take of $164,180,000

Gladiator II, the other newcomer earned less than half as much, but still pulled in a respectable $55.5 million it's first weekend in theaters. It did much better internationally, earning $165.5 million for a first weekend total of $221 million globally

Gladiator II, the other newcomer earned less than half as much, but still pulled in a respectable $55.5 million it’s first weekend in theaters. It did much better internationally, earning $165.5 million for a first weekend total of $221 million globally

The fable has been popular internationally, with a global take of $117.1 million. 

Fourth place went to newcomer Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. ᴀssᴀssin. from the faith-based Angel Studios. 

Jonas Dᴀssler stars as a German pastor recruited to join a plot to kill Adolph Hitler. The film has received tepid reviews, but aggressive marketing on the Angels Studios app and to church groups helped the movie earn $5.1 million its first weekend in theaters. 

Venom: The Last Dance rounded out the top five, earning $4 million over the weekend.  The Tom Hardy lead sci-fi thriller continues to enjoy a good run at theaters with a worldwide take so far of $456.425 million.

Last week's number one Red One, dropped to third place. The new holiday tale starring Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Chris Evans as bounty hunters hired to rescued a kidnapped Santa Claus, played by JK Simmons found nearly $13.3 million in its stocking for the weekend

Last week’s number one Red One, dropped to third place. The new holiday tale starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Chris Evans as bounty hunters hired to rescued a kidnapped Santa Claus, played by JK Simmons found nearly $13.3 million in its stocking for the weekend

Fourth place went to newcomer Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. ᴀssᴀssin. from the faith-based Angel Studios. Jonas Dᴀssler stars as a German pastor recruited to join a plot to kill Adolph Hitler. The movie earned $5.1 million its first weekend in theaters

Fourth place went to newcomer Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. ᴀssᴀssin. from the faith-based Angel Studios. Jonas Dᴀssler stars as a German pastor recruited to join a plot to kill Adolph Hitler. The movie earned $5.1 million its first weekend in theaters

Venom: The Last Dance rounded out the top five, earning $4 million over the weekend

Venom: The Last Dance rounded out the top five, earning $4 million over the weekend

The heartwarming The Best Christmas Pageant Ever dropped from its third place debut to number six.

Judy Greer stars as a busy mom who volunteers to lead her small town’s annual holiday production only to be sidelined by the Herdman siblings, who want to take over all the roles in the Nativity play.

The new holiday classic earned $3.5 million its second week in theaters. 

Hugh Grant’s scary performance in Heretic continued to give thrills and chills to audiences in seventh place. 

The heartwarming The Best Christmas Pageant Ever dropped from its third place debut to number six. The new holiday classic starring Judy Geer earned $3.5 million its second week in theaters

The heartwarming The Best Christmas Pageant Ever dropped from its third place debut to number six. The new holiday classic starring Judy Geer earned $3.5 million its second week in theaters

Hugh Grant's scary performance in Heretic continued to give thrills and chills to audiences. The thriller in which Grant's Mr. Reed tests the faith of two Mormon sister missionaries played by Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East was in seventh place with  $2.23 million

Hugh Grant’s scary performance in Heretic continued to give thrills and chills to audiences. The thriller in which Grant’s Mr. Reed tests the faith of two Mormon sister missionaries played by Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East was in seventh place with  $2.23 million

The Wild Robot, starring the voice of Lupita Nyong'o as the тιтle character, continues to charm audiences. The animated adventure set on a remote island where the robot named Roz finds herself stranded, landed in eighth place, with a payday of $2 million

The Wild Robot, starring the voice of Lupita Nyong’o as the тιтle character, continues to charm audiences. The animated adventure set on a remote island where the robot named Roz finds herself stranded, landed in eighth place, with a payday of $2 million

The thriller in which Grant’s Mr. Reed tests the faith of two Mormon sister missionaries played by Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East dropped to seventh place and earned $2.23 million its third weekend in theaters. 

The Wild Robot, starring the voice of Lupita Nyong’o as the тιтle character, continues to charm audiences.

The animated adventure set on a remote island where the robot named Roz finds herself stranded, landed in eighth place, with a payday of $2 million. 

The film, which is considered to be an strong contender in the upcoming Hollywood awards season, has earned more than $317.4 worldwide. 

Smile 2 remained a staple at the box office, turning up in ninth place. The film in which a malevolent presence forces its victims to smile whether they want to or not made $1.1 million

Smile 2 remained a staple at the box office, turning up in ninth place. The film in which a malevolent presence forces its victims to smile whether they want to or not made $1.1 million

A Real Pain, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin as mis-matched cousins on a tour through their grandmother's native Poland rounded out the top 10. The buddy comedy earned $1.1 million

A Real Pain, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin as mis-matched cousins on a tour through their grandmother’s native Poland rounded out the top 10. The buddy comedy earned $1.1 million 

Smile 2 remained a staple at the box office, turning up in ninth place. The film in which a malevolent presence forces its victims to smile whether they want to or not made $1.1 million. 

The thriller has earned more than $67 million domestically and another $68.1 internationally for a global total of  $135.85 million. 

A Real Pain, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin as mis-matched cousins on a tour through their grandmother’s native Poland rounded out the top 10. 

The buddy comedy earned $1.1 million its fourth week in limited release.

Related Posts

Ciara Miller Shares Where She Stands With Summer House Ex West Wilson

Ciara Miller Shares Where She Stands With Summer House Ex West Wilson

Summer House’s Ciara Miller is opening up about where she stands with costar and ex West Wilson. “Currently, I don’t have a relationship with him, and it…

Mormon Wives Cast Has Receipts After Taylor Frankie Paul Throws Shade

Mormon Wives Cast Has Receipts After Taylor Frankie Paul Throws Shade

Taylor Frankie Paul, Inset: Jessi Ngatikaura, Jennifer Affleck, Mayci Neeley, Taylor Frankie Paul, Mikayla Matthews, Layla Taylor, Demi Engemann Taylor Hill/WireImage ; Inset: Disney/Fred Hayes Taylor Frankie…

Diddy’s Defense Offers Bail Conditions ‘More Restrictive’ Than MDC

Diddy’s Defense Offers Bail Conditions ‘More Restrictive’ Than MDC

Sean “Diddy” Combs. (PH๏τo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images) Defense attorneys for Sean “Diddy” Combs proposed new bail conditions they claim to be more restrictive than jail. Conditions…

Jonathan Owens Copies Simone Biles’ Gymnastics Salute in Bears Game

Jonathan Owens Copies Simone Biles’ Gymnastics Salute in Bears Game

Jonathan Owens Michael Reaves/Getty Images Jonathan Owens is taking notes from wife Simone Biles’ gymnastics skills — and applying them to his football games. In the middle…

How Kyle Cooke and Amanda Batula Overcome ‘Tough’ Marriage Issues

How Kyle Cooke and Amanda Batula Overcome ‘Tough’ Marriage Issues

Kyle Cooke and Amanda Batula Ivan Apfel/Bravo Summer House fans have watched the highs and lows of Kyle Cooke and Amanda Batula’s relationship play out on camera…

Julie Chrisley Helped Savannah Make Thanksgiving List at Visitation

Julie Chrisley Helped Savannah Make Thanksgiving List at Visitation

Julie and Savannah Chrisley Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for The Kevin Carter Foundation While Julie Chrisley will not be at her family’s Thanksgiving table, daughter Savannah Chrisley is…