NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� With a combined $270 million in worldwide ticket sales, and breathed fresh life into a box office that has , leading to one of the busiest moviegoing weekends of the year.
鈥淲icked,鈥� starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, debuted with $114 million domestically and $164.2 million globally for Universal Pictures, according to studio estimates Sunday. That made it the third-biggest opening weekend of the year, behind only and It鈥檚 also a record for a Broadway musical adaptation.
a sequel to his 2000 best picture-winning original, launched with $55.5 million in ticket sales. With a price tag of around $250 million to produce it, 鈥淕ladiator II鈥� was a big bet by Paramount Pictures to return to the Coliseum with a largely new cast, led by Denzel Washington and Paul Mescal. While it opened with a touch less than the $60 million predicted in domestic ticket sales, 鈥淕ladiator II鈥� has performed well overseas. It added $50.5 million internationally.
Going into the weekend, box office was down about 11% from last year and some 25% from pre-pandemic times. That meant this week's two headline films led a much-needed resurgence for theaters. With releasing Wednesday, Hollywood might be looking at historic sales over the Thanksgiving holiday.
鈥淭his weekend鈥檚 two strong openers are invigorating a box office that fell apart after a good summer,鈥� said David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a newsletter for Franchise Entertainment.
The collision of the two movies led to some echoes of the effect of last year, when 鈥淏arbie" and 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� launched simultaneously. The nickname this time, wasn鈥檛 quite as catchy and the cultural imprint was also notably less. Few people this time. The domestic grosses in 2023 鈥� $162 million for 鈥淏arbie鈥� and $82 million for 鈥淥ppenheimer鈥� 鈥� were also higher.
But the counter-programming effect was still potent for 鈥淲颈肠办别诲鈥� and 鈥淕ladiator II,鈥� which likewise split broadly along gender lines. And it was again the female-leaning release 鈥� 鈥淲icked,鈥� like 鈥淏arbie鈥� before it 鈥� that easily won the weekend. About 72% of ticket buyers for 鈥淲颈肠办别诲鈥� were female, while 61% of those seeing 鈥淕ladiator II鈥� were male.
And while 鈥淏补谤产别苍丑别颈尘别谤鈥� benefitted enormously from meme-spread word-of-mouth, both 鈥淲颈肠办别诲鈥� and 鈥淕ladiator II鈥� leaned on all-out marketing blitzes.
Both movies pulled out all the stops in global advertising campaigns that spanned everything from 鈥淲颈肠办别诲鈥� Mattel dolls (some of which led to an awkward recall) to an Airbnb cross-promotion with the actual Colosseum in Rome. For 鈥淕ladiator II,鈥� Paramount even took the unusual step of simultaneously running a one-minute trailer on more than 4,000 TV networks, radio station and digital platforms.
Though 鈥淲颈肠办别诲鈥� will face some direct competition from 鈥淢oana 2,鈥� it would seem to be better set up for a long and lucrative run in theaters. Even at 2 hours and 40 minutes, the film has had mostly stellar reviews. Audiences gave it an 鈥淎鈥� on CinemaScore. The reception for 鈥淲颈肠办别诲鈥� has been strong enough that Oscar prognosticators expect it to be a contender for best picture at the Academy Awards, among other categories.
Producers, perhaps sensing a hit, also took the step of splitting 鈥淲颈肠办别诲鈥� in two. Part two, already filmed, is due out next November. Each 鈥淲颈肠办别诲鈥� installation cost around $150 million to make.
鈥淕ladiator II鈥� has also enjoyed good reviews, particularly for Washington's charismatic performance. Audience scores, though, were weaker, with ticket buyers giving it a 鈥淏鈥� on CinemaScore. 鈥淕ladiator II鈥� will make up for some of that, however, with robust international sales. It launched in many overseas markets a week ago, earning $87 million before landing in North America.
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
