Studio tentpoles have had their fair share of ups and downs at the box office this year. For every hit like A Minecraft Movie or Lilo & Stitch, there’s been something like Captain America: Brave New World or Thunderbolts* that underwhelmed. Theater owners are hoping the fall and winter deliver some blockbusters to end 2025 on a high note. One title that should drive business over the always busy holiday season is Wicked: For Good, the follow-up to last year’s wildly successful fantasy musical. With a little over a month until the film hits theaters, Universal is in the process of putting together a big promotional blowout, and that includes a new announcement that tickets are now on sale.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Today, the studio released a new Wicked: For Good trailer to coincide with tickets becoming available. Running shorter than the final official trailer that shed more light on the movie’s story and highlighted key Wizard of Oz connections, this latest preview focuses primarily on the Elphaba/Glinda dynamic at the heart of the story. The former is embracing her status as “the wicked witch,” while the latter is establishing herself as the good witch Wizard of Oz fans know and love. Check out the trailer in the space below:
How Will Wicked: For Good Fare at the Box Office?
The first Wicked was one of the biggest box office hits of 2024, bringing in $756.4 million worldwide (good enough for fifth place). Universal is clearly hoping that Wicked: For Good can replicate that performance — or even exceed it. The film doesn’t debut in theaters until November 21st, so the studio putting tickets on sale now illustrates its commitment to building hype and excitement for Wicked: For Good, turning it into one of the premier moviegoing events of the fall. With this move, Wicked: For Good gets a jump start on its competition during the lucrative Thanksgiving frame, such as Disney’s Zootopia 2.
Last year, Wicked opened with $112.5 million domestically. The follow-up has a good chance of passing that figure. For starters, its billing as “the epic conclusion” will make it a massive draw, as fans will be eager to see how the story ends on the big screen. Additionally, Wicked: For Good won’t have to contend with any high-profile titles in its opening frame. Other movies releasing on November 21st include action film Sisu: Road to Revenge and dramedy Rental Family, both of which seem positioned more as counterprogramming options for specific demographics. Last year, of course, saw the “Glicked” phenomena, where Gladiator II and Wicked opened on the same day. Those two films obviously had very different target audiences, but there’s nothing on the scale of Gladiator opposing Wicked this time.
Coincidentally, Wicked went up against a highly anticipated Disney animated sequel last year, a scenario that’s repeating itself this holiday season. This time, it’s Zootopia 2, the long-awaited follow-up to the 2016 original (which is a member of the $1 billion club). Moana 2, which broke Thanksgiving box office records, proved it was possible for a Wicked movie and a Disney animated film to coexist at the multiplex, so both For Good and Zootopia 2 should be able to post high numbers in November.
Wicked: For Good is almost assured to be a massive box office hit. The real question is how high up the 2025 charts will it go. Only one Hollywood movie, Lilo & Stitch, has crossed $1 billion this year, so Wicked: For Good could easily find itself in the top five by the time the year is done — especially if it gets a boost due to minimal competition and the promotional campaign’s emphasis on the grand finale. Other than Zootopia 2, the only other movie on the horizon that has a realistic chance of climbing to the top of the charts is Avatar: Fire and Ash, meaning Wicked: For Good should be one of the dominant films of the holiday box office.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image courtesy of Lucasfilm. -
Courtesy of Pathea Games
