Key Takeaways
Total 3-Day Weekend Gross:
$185,486,283 | +59.5% Last Week / -8.4% Weekend 47, 2024
Universal’s Wicked: For Good single-handedly carried the weekend with an estimated $150M bow, besting last year’s installment while giving it amazing momentum going into the Thanksgiving derby with Disney’s Zootopia 2 on Wednesday. The overall box office was down from this same pre-Turkey Day slot last year, although with the absence of a Gladiator II for the male audience on top of weak showings for our holdovers (Now You See Me, Running Man) this is still a remarkable performance.
- Top Title: Wicked: For Good (Universal) | $150M / 4,115 Screens / $36,452 PSA | Week 1
- Top Opener: Wicked: For Good (Universal) | $150M / 4,115 Screens / $36,452 PSA | Week 1
- Best PSA: Wicked: For Good (Universal) | $150M / 4,115 Screens / $36,452 PSA | Week 1
1. Wicked: For Good
Universal Pictures | NEW
$150M 3-Day Opening Weekend | $226M Global Total
Universal is calling it at an estimated $150M for the debut frame of their much-anticipated musical sequel Wicked: For Good. It made that amount in 4,115 locations for a $36,452 per screen average, besting the first movie’s $112.5M bow last year. The result makes it the biggest opening weekend for a Broadway adaptation. This is also the third highest grossing opening for a musical ever, behind only 2019’s The Lion King ($191.77M) and 2017’s Beauty And The Beast ($174.75M), and the second-highest opening of 2025 behind A Minecraft Movie‘s $162.75M.
PLFs are responsible for 40% of the weekend, including $15.5M from domestic IMAX screens (biggest November domestic opening for the format) and $21.1M globally. The biggest multiplex grosser was NYC’s AMC Empire with $285K, while the Regal Irvine Spectrum in Orange County, California was the west coast champ. Regal reports big merch sales across its locations, generating the fourth highest SPP (spend per patron) on record for the exhibitor, with Glinda and Elphaba Collector Combo containers selling out across the entire theater network.
Reports also indicate there was a 6% uptick in attendees going to the film in groups with 1 to 5 friends. This $150M opening is on the lower end of our prediction panel’s forecast range, though we believe the record pre-sales that fueled our forecasting will stretch out through all of next week for the Thanksgiving holiday… even with formidable family competition from Zootopia 2.
Here’s how the 3-Day looked, including a massive $30.8M in Thursday previews alone…
- Friday – $68.9M
- Saturday – $43.3M
- Sunday – $37.8M
Critically the new film was less well-received the first, earning 71% on Rotten Tomatoes vs 88% for last year’s installment. Audience score was still stellar at 95% (tied with Wicked 1) alongside an “A” CinemaScore and an 83% through PostTrak (better than the first’s 80%). As expected, audiences were predominantly female at 71%, with 50% in the 18-34 age group.
Here’s how demographics looked…
- Caucasian – 54%
- Hispanic – 20%
- African American – 11%
- Asian – 9%
- NATAM/Other – 6%
Overseas Wicked: For Good only did half the domestic business at an estimated $76M from 78 markets, but that number is a significant uptick from the first movie’s $50.2M international launch.
Wicked: For Good – Opening Weekend
Top Ten Overseas Markets
1. UK & Ireland | $24.37M
2. Australia | $8.58M
3. Germany | $4M
4. Korea | $3.8M
5. Mexico | $3.7M
6. Philippines | $2.7M
7. Brazil | $2.48M
8. Spain | $2.29M
9. Netherlands | $2M
10. France | $2M
Other Notable Performances
Last week’s champ Now You See Me: Now You Don’t took a -57% dive from its opening with $9.1M from 3,403 screens at #2. That’s on the low end of our forecast and in the same ballpark as Now You See Me 2‘s $9.37M sophomore frame. Meanwhile, Paramount’s The Running Man dropped -65% with $5.8M, below the already-low expectations for the film’s second frame, charting at #4.
Searchlight’s dramedy Rental Family took in $3.3M from 1,925 locations for a $1,714 PSA on its opening bow. Despite good critical notices (87% on RT) and an “A” CinemaScore, this is a slow start for the Brendan Fraser-led Oscar contender, landing at #5 on the charts.
Next Weekend
It has been almost ten years since Disney’s 2016 animated smash Zootopia took in over a billion dollars worldwide, and now Disney is reigniting the brand for Zootopia 2. With a ubiquitous ad campaign and Disney+ streams of the first movie onboarding new recruits, this one could potentially out-do the second Wicked’s performance this frame over the Thanksgiving holiday. Among the counter-programming is director Chloé Zhao’s Shakespeare biopic Hamnet, the romantic fantasy Eternity, and Netflix’s limited theatrical engagement of Rian Johnson’s Knives Out threequel Wake Up Dead Man.
Sunday Studio Estimates | Weekend 47 – 2025
Total 3-Day Domestic Gross: $185,486,283 | (-8.4% vs 2024)
| Title | Weekend Estimate | % Change | Locations | Location Change | PSA | Domestic Total | Week | Distributor |
| Wicked: For Good | $150,000,000 | 4,115 | $36,452 | 150,000,000 | 1 | Universal | ||
| Now You See Me: Now You Don’t | $9,120,000 | -57% | 3,403 | n/c | $2,680 | 36,829,120 | 2 | Lionsgate |
| Predator: Badlands | $6,250,000 | -51% | 3,100 | -625 | $2,016 | 76,284,737 | 3 | 20th Century… |
| The Running Man | $5,800,000 | -65% | 3,534 | n/c | $1,641 | 27,048,000 | 2 | Paramount Pi… |
| Rental Family | $3,300,000 | 1,925 | $1,714 | 3,300,000 | 1 | Searchlight … | ||
| SISU: Road to Revenge | $2,600,000 | 2,222 | $1,170 | 2,600,000 | 1 | Sony Pictures | ||
| Regretting You | $1,520,000 | -59% | 2,709 | n/c | $561 | 47,258,000 | 5 | Paramount Pi… |
| Nuremberg | $1,140,000 | -53% | 1,010 | -820 | $1,129 | 10,920,000 | 3 | Sony Picture… |
| Black Phone 2 | $1,000,000 | -62% | 1,227 | -1,192 | $815 | 76,389,000 | 6 | Universal |
| Sarah’s Oil | $771,542 | -66% | 1,347 | -1,063 | $573 | 10,352,218 | 3 | Amazon MGM S… |
| Sentimental Value | $635,000 | 67% | 151 | 123 | $4,205 | 1,477,075 | 3 | Neon |
| Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc | $600,000 | -61% | 503 | -917 | $1,193 | 42,501,000 | 5 | Sony Pictures |
| Keeper | $600,000 | -76% | 1,385 | -565 | $433 | 3,941,564 | 2 | Neon |
| Bugonia | $550,000 | -66% | 410 | -843 | $1,341 | 16,914,000 | 5 | Focus Features |
| One Battle After Another | $205,000 | -55% | 121 | -130 | $1,694 | 70,480,005 | 9 | Warner Bros. |
| Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere | $160,000 | -80% | 310 | -705 | $516 | 22,528,080 | 5 | 20th Century… |
| Tron: Ares | $132,000 | -79% | 250 | -770 | $528 | 73,049,542 | 7 | Walt Disney |
| It Was Just an Accident | $76,441 | -44% | 72 | -38 | $1,062 | 1,292,801 | 6 | Neon |
| Peter Hujar’s Day | $50,900 | 12% | 27 | 3 | $1,885 | 190,392 | 3 | Janus Films |
| Rebuilding | $22,744 | -22% | 10 | 8 | $2,274 | 55,829 | 2 | Bleecker Street |
| Cutting Through Rocks | $7,933 | 1 | $7,933 | 7,933 | 1 | Film Forum | ||
| The Man Who Saves the World? | $7,180 | 149% | 1 | -2 | $7,180 | 55,809 | 6 | Area 23a |
| Mistress Dispeller | $6,247 | 48% | 9 | 1 | $694 | 69,465 | 5 | Oscilloscope… |
| Zodiac Killer Project | $3,800 | 1 | $3,800 | 3,800 | 1 | Music Box Films | ||
| CatVideoFest 2025 | $930 | -74% | 1 | -1 | $930 | 1,035,101 | 17 | Oscilloscope… |
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