Wicked vs. Gladiator II: Box Office Buzz Falls Short Of Barbie And Oppenheimer’s Record-Breaking Hype

 “Wicked” and “Gladiator II”—two films expected to revive the fall box office—premiered Friday and drew millions of dollars in Thursday previews domestically, but fell short of the Thursday preview totals for “Barbie” And “Oppenheimer” despite comparisons to the two opposite summer flicks that premiered as part of the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon last year.

“Wicked,” starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, grossed $11 million in Thursday previews and “Gladiator II,” starring Pedro Pascal and Paul Mescal, grossed $6.5 million in Thursday previews, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“Wicked” is expected to have an opening weekend between $100 million and $110 million—which could place it around the third-best opening weekend of the year, according to BoxOfficeMojo—while “Gladiator II” is expected to open to around $65 million.

While the preview totals are high, they are still below their counterparts in the Barbenheimer weekend, as “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” grossed $22.3 million and $10.5 million respectively.

The totals of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” will also be tough to beat: “Barbie” drew $1.4 billion worldwide and “Oppenheimer” fell just shy of $1 billion, grossing $976 million.

Comparisons between “Glicked” and “Barbenheimer” stem from the similar novelty of two big-budget, yet topically opposite films premiering in one weekend, one of which appeals to a primarily female audience and the other primarily male. Both films are highly anticipated by their fan bases and receiving strong early reviews, with “Wicked” having a Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score of 89% as of Friday, while “Gladiator II” has a 72% score. Both are also expected to earn Best Picture nominations at next year’s Academy Awards, along with a slew of other nominations, according to multiple trade publications. “Wicked” follows the tale of two witches of Oz, Elphaba (Erivo) and Glinda (Grande), as they become friends at Shiz University but their friendship reaches a crossroads and the two take different paths. “Gladiator II” follows Lucius (Mescal) as he tries to return Rome and its glory to its people after it was conquered by tyrannical emperors.

$211.4 million. That’s how much “Deadpool & Wolverine” grossed in its opening weekend, marking the best opening of the year. “Inside Out 2” had the second best opening with $154 million, followed by “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” with $111 million, according to BoxOfficeMojo.

Though it will be an uphill battle for either “Wicked” or “Gladiator II” to have the success of Barbenheimer’s films, “Wicked” will almost surely have the best debut of a broadway adaption. Variety reported “Into the Woods,” a 2014 movie starring Anna Kendrick, currently holds the title for grossing $31 million in its opening weekend.

The stars of “Wicked” went viral a number of times on their press tour for their emotional interviews, leading some fans and social media users to joke about their interactions. The latest clip to go viral featured Grande and Erivo talking to a reporter from Out Magazine. The reporter told Erivo people had been “taking the lyrics of ‘Defying Gravity’ and really holding space in that, and feeling power in that,” leading Erivo to seem moved and say that was what she wanted while Grande grasped Erivo’s index finger. Social media users said the exchange didn’t make sense and made fun of it online, with one user saying it was “amazing” and “almost like they are speaking a language I don’t understand.”