Wicked: For Good Projected to Earn Largest Box Office Opening of 2025

Come Monday, it looks like all Ozians will be shouting "Thank Goodness"! Wicked: For Good is projected to earn the largest box office opening in 2025, beating out A Minecraft Movie for the top spot on the end of year list.

The film is expected to make between $150 million and $180 million from 4,000 North American theatres in its premiere weekend. Based on present predictions, it is expected to shatter the previous stage-to-screen opening weekend record set by the first Wicked film, which brought in $112.5 million at the same time last year.

The conservative estimate offered by Universal, the studio behind the film franchise, is earmarked at $125 million, but cinema owners across the country have flagged the film to overperform that estimate. So far, this year's biggest releases have been April’s A Minecraft Movie, which made $162 million its opening weekend, and May’s Lilo & Stitch remake from Disney, which brought in $146 million its opening weekend. Wicked's expected take home is particularly impressive in a deeply depressed fall, which has seen more than its fair share of financial disasters on the big screen.

Wicked: For Good will be released in cinemas November 21, with early screenings now widely available. Starring Ariana Grande as Glinda and Erivo as Elphaba, the films also feature West End Company Olivier winner and Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, SpongeBob SquarePants star Ethan Slater as Boq, Emmy winner Peter Dinklage as Dr. Dillamond, Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Jeff Goldblum as The Wizard, and Marissa Bode as Nessarose, the first wheelchair-using actor in the musical's history to take on the role.

READ: All the Changes Wicked: For Good Made to Act 2 of Wicked

Stage and screen star Keala Settle, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Aaron Teoh, and Colin Michael Carmichael are also in the cast, with Settle as Miss Coddle, Carmichael as Professor Nikidik, and Yang, James, and Teoh as Shiz students Pfannee, ShenShen, and Avaric, respectively.

The screen adaptation, which includes new songs by Stephen Schwartz, is helmed by In the Heights screen director Jon M. Chu. Wicked book writer Winnie Holzman penned the screenplay with Dana Fox, and Tony winner Paul Tazewell designed the Oscar-winning costumes.

Wicked, injecting a new backstory onto the classic tale The Wizard of Oz, debuted on Broadway in 2003 and continues to be an audience favorite at the Gershwin Theatre. Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, the musical features music and lyrics by Schwartz and a book by Holzman. The original cast included Tony winners Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively. The musical is now the fourth longest-running production in Broadway history.

The show won 2004 Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical (Menzel), Best Costume Design (Susan Hilferty), and Best Scenic Design (Eugene Lee).