Box Office: 'Wicked Part One's $114 Million Weekend Ranks Among Biggest Debuts Ever For New Franchises

Jon M. Chu's Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande-starring musical fantasy took its place alongside "new to cinema" legends like 'Harry Potter,' 'Spider-Man,' 'Iron Man,' 'Hunger Games' and 'Barbie'.

The Wicked Witch lived up to the (spoken like a Bostonian) wicked hype. Universal’s Wicked Part One defied gravity in its global debut, earning $114 million in North America (skewing 71% female, natch) and $164.2 million worldwide. I’ve spent much time comparing Jon M. Chu’s Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande-starring adaptation of Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman’s beloved musical to the last 2.5 decades of big-deal YA fantasy franchise flicks that opened the weekend before Thanksgiving, from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone ($90 million in 2001) to Frozen II ($130 million in 2019). Let’s count The Grinch ($55 million in 2000) and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes ($45 million in 2023). Sans inflation (Harry Potter 1’s then-all-time opening weekend championship gross would be $171 million at 2024 ticket prices), Wicked Part One nabbed one of the biggest domestic debuts ever for a “new to cinema” franchise starter.