

The highly-anticipated part 2 Wicked: For Good is projected to have the highest-grossing opening weekend of the year. The film is projected to make $150 to $180 million in its first weekend, and it is expected to continue performing well moving into December. It will theoretically beat out A Minecraft Movie and Lilo & Stitch in their first weekends, with $162 million and $146 million respectively.
The competition this weekend is fairly weak, with the action thriller Sisu: Road to Revenge and the Brendan Fraser-led Rental Family being the only other new releases. Both films are playing in far fewer theaters than Wicked, and they are both looking at single digit millions for their debuts. The real test will for Wicked: For Good comes in the form of Zootopia 2, which releases less than a week later. The Disney animated sequel releases on November 26, and will prove as stiff competition as another family-friendly film.
Last year, the combination of Wicked, Moana 2 and Gladiator II made for a record breaking Thanksgiving weekend. This year’s combo of Wicked: For Good and Zootopia 2 hope to replicate that success. They will at least make up for the lackluster Fall season at the movies leading up to this point. This weekend mirrors last year’s with Wicked and Zootopia, but the absence of a film like Gladiator II may hurt its chances of beating last year.
Wicked: For Good once again stars Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey and Jeff Goldblum. It will cover the second act of the Broadway musical, chronicling the rise and fall of the Wicked Witch of the West and crossing over with the events of The Wizard of Oz. The film will feature two original songs unique to this film adaptation. It debuts this weekend on November 21.
