Rejoicify! Wicked: For Good Smashes Records At The Weekend Box Office, But It’s Bad News For The Running Man

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As expected, Wicked: For Good – the second part of last year’s Broadway hit – is the clear winner at the box office this week. However, few predicted just how strongly it would perform. It completely overshadowed the other new movie releases, and even broke box office records previously set by Wicked: Part I last year. Starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, the musical proved to be a massive success.

Let’s start by looking at the chart to see how everyone performed, and then we can examine the details of the results.

TITLE WEEKEND GROSS DOMESTIC GROSS LW THTRS
1. Wicked: For Good* $150,000,000 $150,000,000 N/A 4,115
2. Now You See Me: Now You Don’t $9,120,000 $36,829,120 1 3,403
3. Predator: Badlands $6,250,000 $76,284,737 3 3,100
4. The Running Man $5,800,000 $27,048,000 2 3,534
5. Rental Family* $3,300,000 $3,300,000 N/A 1,925
6. SISU: Road to Revenge* $2,600,000 $2,600,000 N/A 2,222
7. Regretting You $1,520,000 $47,258,000 4 2,709
8. Nuremberg $1,140,000 $10,920,000 7 1,010
9. Black Phone 2 $1,000,000 $76,389,000 5 1,227
10. Sarah’s Oil $771,542 $10,352,218 8 1,347

Wicked: For Good Earns $150M Domestically, $226M Globally For Record-Breaking Opening Weekend

Everyone expected Wicked: For Good, the second movie in Jon M. Chu’s two-part musical adaptation, to perform well, hoping it would earn at least as much as the first Wicked film did during its opening weekend ($114 million). It exceeded those expectations, bringing in $150 million and setting a new record for opening weekend box office numbers for movies based on Broadway shows.

The stage musical also had the biggest opening weekend ever for a movie-to-stage adaptation, both worldwide and internationally. It made $76 million outside of North America, bringing its total opening earnings to $226 million. For comparison, the original movie earned $50.2 million internationally and a worldwide total of just over $164 million in its first three days.

In the United States, Wicked: For Good had the second-highest opening weekend of 2025, earning less than A Minecraft Movie ($162 million) but more than Lilo & Stitch ($146 million). Currently, it’s the 14th highest-grossing film of the year, but it’s expected to soon move up to 13th place, surpassing Weapons which has earned $151.6 million.

How much higher will the film’s success go by the end of 2025? Wicked: For Good seems poised for a long run. While critics had mixed reactions—even our reviewers had preferences for the first half—audiences loved it, giving the movie an ‘A’ rating from CinemaScore.

Viewers on Rotten Tomatoes seem to like For Good even more than critics do. Critics gave it a 70% rating (compared to 88% for Wicked), but audiences gave it a very high 95% score – the same as the first movie. This suggests positive reviews and people wanting to see it again will help the film stay popular through the rest of the year and into 2026.

The movie Wicked: Part I stayed in cinemas until March 2025, earning a total of $475 million in the US and $756 million worldwide. With ticket sales for the second part already much higher than the first, it’s likely to continue performing strongly for a long time.

The Running Man Takes A Dive, Falling 65% In Second Weekend

The box office results for The Running Man continued to decline after a weak opening weekend, a trend Eric Eisenberg had previously predicted. The Glen Powell remake dropped to fourth place, earning only $5.8 million – a significant 65% decrease from its opening three days. Surprisingly, it was shown in more theaters than all but Wicked: For Good.

After two weekends, the movie has earned $27 million, which is far short of its estimated $110 million production budget – and that doesn’t even include marketing and distribution expenses. Worldwide earnings are also sluggish, currently totaling just $48.3 million.

Also in the top five, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t fell to number two, experiencing a significant drop in earnings. It made $9.1 million this weekend, which is 57% less than its opening weekend. However, the Now You See Me films have traditionally earned most of their revenue internationally, and the third movie is following that pattern. After three weeks in release, Now You See Me 3 has grossed $146 million globally, on a $90 million production budget.

Rental Family And SISU: Road To Revenge Meet Expectations In Release Alongside Wicked 2

Let’s be real, it’s tough launching a smaller film when a massive hit like Wicked just dropped. I was looking at the weekend numbers, and Rental Family and SISU: Road to Revenge definitely felt the impact. They landed at numbers five and six, respectively, and brought in around $2 to $3 million – which, honestly, is pretty much where everyone expected them to be given the competition. It wasn’t a bad opening, just a realistic one.

Brendan Fraser is receiving a lot of attention for his performance in Rental Family, and many believe he could be an awards season contender. The film has strong audience and critic scores – an A on CinemaScore and an 87% ‘Fresh’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes (with a 96% audience score) – and is known for its memorable ending. It’s possible Rental Family will continue to draw viewers even after the initial buzz from other new releases dies down.

While still doing well, SISU: Road to Revenge didn’t quite have the same strong start as its first movie. It earned $2.6 million this weekend, compared to $3.3 million for the original in 2022. However, it’s getting great reviews, with a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. We’ll see if those positive reviews boost its performance next week.

Just one major movie is coming out for Thanksgiving, and it could be a big one! Zootopia 2 opens on Wednesday, November 26th, and expectations are high. Check back next Sunday to find out how Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde do against Elphaba and Glinda.

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2025-11-23 23:46