Throughout Wicked's box office run, it managed to accrue almost a dozen box office records under its magical belt.
While 2025's Wicked: For Good will conclude the Broadway story on the big screen, the first part is already becoming a massive success. Even coming out against heavy competition like Gladiator 2 and Moana 2, the Wizard of Oz prequel is retaking its place as a cultural phenomenon.
2024 saw a handful of major hits at the box office, including Inside Out 2 cracking into the top 10 highest-grossing films ever and Deadpool & Wolverine shattering records as the biggest R-rated film of all time.
Every Wicked Box Office Record
As of writing, Wicked has grossed $461 million domestically and over $700 million worldwide at the box office.
The film came to theaters on November 22 last year, and it is not expected to leave the big screen until sometime in April.
Below is the list of records Wicked has set thus far with the possibility of more being broken by the time it leaves theaters:
Top 10 Highest-Grossing Film of 2024
Wicked's $700 million haul places it as the sixth-highest-grossing movie of 2024 after barely over a month in theaters. The only films it still trails are Inside Out 2, Deadpool & Wolverine, Despicable Me 4, Moana 2, and Dune: Part 2.
This also makes Wicked the highest-grossing non-sequel of 2024, as it is the only non-sequel in the top 10 highest-grossing movies of the year.
Biggest Musical Theater Movie Adaptation Ever
A mere month after hitting theaters, Wicked became the highest-grossing movie adaptation of a Broadway musical in history.
This puts it ahead of the second spot taken by Universal's Mamma Mia!, which earned $611.5 million globally in 2008. It has already outgrossed movies such as 2012's Les Misérables, 1978's Grease, and 2003's Chicago.
Highest-Grossing Musical Film Released by Universal Pictures
If inching out every other stage musical film was not enough, Wicked has also managed to become Universal Pictures' highest-grossing musical film.
Sing trails behind now with $634 million, putting Elphaba and co. far away on top. All of the musical films ahead of Wicked in box office numbers are currently under the House of Mouse, coming from either Disney or 20th Century Studios.
Perhaps Wicked: For Good will be able to go toe-to-toe with some of the high-earning Disney princesses later this year.
4th-Biggest Domestic Opening Weekend of 2024
During Wicked's opening weekend, the movie hauled in an impressive $112 million at the domestic box office. The only movies to come in with a bigger opening weekend in 2024 were Deadpool & Wolverine ($211 million), Inside Out 2 ($154 million), and Moana 2 ($140 million).
These were four of the five movies with opening domestic weekends of over $100 million in 2024, including Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.
Biggest Opening Weekend a Movie Based on a Broadway Show
Wicked easily surpassed the biggest opening weekend for any musical adaptation in history. The previous worldwide record-holder was 2012’s Les Miserables at $103 million, and it surpassed 2014's Into the Woods, which grossed $31 million domestically over its opening weekend.
Highest-Grossing Thanksgiving 5-Day Weekend, Live Action
By earning $118.3 million over its five-day Thanksgiving weekend, Wicked became the biggest domestic Thanksgiving release for any live-action movie in history.
The record was previously held by The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which earned $109.9 million during Thanksgiving 2013.
It also has the third-highest Thanksgiving five-day opening overall, only trailing 2024's Moana 2 and 2019's Frozen 2, and it now holds the record for any non-sequel ever.
Part of Highest-Grossing Thanksgiving in Movie History
Thanks to the efforts of Wicked combined with Moana 2, Gladiator 2, Red One, and more, Thanksgiving 2024 was the first Thanksgiving in history to cross $400 million at the domestic box office.
The previous record was set in 2018 behind Fantastic Beasts: The Tales of Grindelwald, Bohemian Rhapsody, The Green Book, and the animated The Grinch.
Biggest Opening for Cynthia Erivo
Star Cynthia Erivo, who portrays Elphaba in Wicked, earned the biggest opening weekend of her career with this movie.
Specifically from a domestic standpoint, Wicked easily topped 2018's Widows, which only grossed $12 million at the North American box office.
Biggest Opening for Any Popstar Ever
With Ariana Grande making her film debut as Glinda in Wicked, this film marks the biggest opening for any pop star in history.
She beats out the opening for Lady Gaga's A Star Is Born, which opened to $42.5 million in 2018.
Biggest Opening for Jon M. Chu
Director Jon M. Chu joined Erivo and Grande with the best opening weekend of his career for any movie he's directed.
Wicked easily tops his work on 2013's G.I. Joe: Retaliation, which only grossed $40.5 million domestically and $132 million worldwide.
Wicked is now playing in theaters. For those looking forward to more Wicked, the second part of the movie is due for release on November 21, 2025.
