‘Wicked: For Good’ Soars to $68.6M on Opening Day, Setting 2025 Box Office Records

Universal Pictures’ musical fantasy film Wicked: For Good is off to a stunning start at the global box office. The Jon M. Chu-directed sequel is estimated to earn $228 million worldwide, exceeding pre-launch projections.

Internationally, the film is expected to bring in around $76 million across 78 markets, marking a 15% increase over the first film’s performance last year, according to box office reports.

The movie now holds the record as the biggest worldwide opening for a Broadway musical adaptation, the fourth-largest Hollywood debut of 2025, and the fifth-largest global start for any musical ever.

Wicked: For Good, also called Wicked: Part Two, continues the story from the 2024 film adaptation of Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman’s 2003 stage musical, which itself was based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel inspired by L. Frank Baum’s classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

The film stars Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum, all returning from the first installment. Set in the Land of Oz, it follows Elphaba and Glinda as they navigate their identities as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.

The final #WickedForGood trailer is here ✨ Watch now. pic.twitter.com/P9UPa4B1Rx

— Wicked: For Good (@wickedmovie) September 24, 2025

The project had a long road to the screen. Universal and Marc Platt first announced the film adaptation in 2012. Production faced delays, including those caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Jon M. Chu was eventually brought on as director in 2021, alongside the casting of Erivo and Grande.

To fully capture the story and character development, the adaptation was split into two parts. Filming started in December 2022 in England, paused in July 2023 due to the SAG-AFTRA strike, and wrapped in January 2024.

The movie premiered at São Paulo’s Suhai Music Hall on November 4, before its U.S. release on November 21. With its record-breaking launch, Wicked: For Good is proving to be both a commercial and cultural success.

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