Wicked’s impressive domestic box office performance looks even better when it is compared to the other movies on the chart. The 2024 movie was adapted from the first act of the smash hit 2003 Broadway musical of the same name, which was written by Winnie Holzman with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. A sequel adapting the second act is set to debut in theaters in November 2025. The movie’s star-studded cast includes Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande-Butera, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum.
In addition to the movie’s critical reception, theWickedbox officehas broken many records. This includes outgrossing 1978’sGreaseto becomethe highest-grossing Broadway musical adaptation of all time in North America. After opening with a whopping $112.5 million, the movie has climbed to a gross of $333.5 million at the domestic box office which, along with an international gross of $135.5 million, brought its worldwide total to $469 million ahead of its fourth weekend in theaters.
Where To Watch Wicked On Streaming
The hit musical based on The Wizard of Oz is now an Oscar-nominated movie, and here are the options for where to watch it on streaming or on digital.
Wicked Is The Only Non-Sequel In The Top 10 At The 2024 Domestic Box Office
The Chart Is Dominated By Direct Sequels
TheWickedmoviehas become such a theatrical success that it has become the No. 4 highest-grossing movie of the year at the domestic box office. Its commercial reception has made it an outlier among the other top hits of the year, as it isthe only movie on the domestic chart that is not a direct sequelto another movie. Below, see a breakdown of the Top 10 movies at the domestic box office as of Wednesday, December 11:
#1
$652.9 million
#2
$636.7 million
#3
$361 million
#4
$333.5 million
#5
$308.6 million
#6
$294.1 million
#7
$282.1 million
#8
$267.8 million
#9
$196.3 million
#10
Kung Fu Panda 4
$193.6 million
2024 is a year that has been overwhelmingly dominated by sequels, whether they be belated follow-ups to classics like 1988’sBeetlejuiceand 1996’sTwister, or continuations of more contemporary movies including 2021’sGodzilla vs. Kong, 2016’sMoana, and 2021’sDune. In fact, the No. 2 movie of the year, which is the Marvel Cinematic Universe movieDeadpool & Wolverineisa direct sequel to both 2018’sDeadpool 2and 2017’sLoganin addition to being a part of the overarching MCU andX-Menfranchises.
Wicked Might Not Be A Sequel, But Its Box Office Success Is Still Thanks To IP
It Has A Complicated Adaptation History
WhileWickedis the only non-sequel, it is not exempt from being an IP property. In fact, it is part of a long chain of adaptations. In addition to adapting a hit musical in the first place, the original Broadway show was itself an adaptation of the 1995Gregory Maguire novelof the same name. That novel was inspired by the 1939 movieThe Wizard of Oz, which in turn was adapted from the 1900 L. Frank Baum novelThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz,giving the 2024 movie an even deeper IP history than anything else in the Top 10.
Wicked
Wicked adapts the Broadway musical into a two-part film, following the unlikely friendship between Elphaba, born with green skin, and Glinda, a popular aristocrat, in the Land of Oz. As they navigate their contrasting paths, they evolve into Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
