Universal's musical fantasy, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, will likely nab one of the top domestic debuts for an entirely "new to cinema" franchise.
I think Wicked opening to this strong of a number (here's hoping for a very strong Saturday bump) is finally concrete proof that musicals were never dead at the box office.
As much as it helps that Wicked is one of the most well-known and popular Broadway musical shows of all-time, I hope this being a success causes other studios (including Universal themselves) to take the right lessons from it when it comes to adapting future musicals into movies.
Also, I think Universal's 2025 slate is emblematic of why they are in a much better position than Disney right now. Outside of Jurassic World Rebirth and their live-action How to Train Your Dragon remake, most of the franchise offerings on their schedule next year are sequels to movies that came out within the past few years. With FNAF 2, MEGAN 2.0, The Bad Guys 2, Nobody 2, The Black Phone 2, Wicked Part Two, etc., they're banking on their recent successes instead of relying on generational nostalgia.
I'm in no way excited for Universal doing live-action remakes of their animated films, but as long as they still realize the importance of new franchises that can be built if you take a chance on an original or new-to-you adaptation, I guess it wouldn't hurt too much for them to play in that generational nostalgia sandbox every once in a while.
It's not original, sure, but it's a Broadway musical ... and those don't usually yield top-tier movie adaptations at the box office. So for sure this performance is something special.
I think Wicked opening to this strong of a number (here's hoping for a very strong Saturday bump) is finally concrete proof that musicals were never dead at the box office.
As much as it helps that Wicked is one of the most well-known and popular Broadway musical shows of all-time, I hope this being a success causes other studios (including Universal themselves) to take the right lessons from it when it comes to adapting future musicals into movies.
Also, I think Universal's 2025 slate is emblematic of why they are in a much better position than Disney right now. Outside of Jurassic World Rebirth and their live-action How to Train Your Dragon remake, most of the franchise offerings on their schedule next year are sequels to movies that came out within the past few years. With FNAF 2, MEGAN 2.0, The Bad Guys 2, Nobody 2, The Black Phone 2, Wicked Part Two, etc., they're banking on their recent successes instead of relying on generational nostalgia.
I'm in no way excited for Universal doing live-action remakes of their animated films, but as long as they still realize the importance of new franchises that can be built if you take a chance on an original or new-to-you adaptation, I guess it wouldn't hurt too much for them to play in that generational nostalgia sandbox every once in a while.
It's not original, sure, but it's a Broadway musical ... and those don't usually yield top-tier movie adaptations at the box office. So for sure this performance is something special.