Moviegoers soared from Oz to the Colosseum over the weekend as millions around the world flocked to see “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” in theaters.
In North America alone, “Wicked” dominated the box office on opening weekend, making an estimated $114 million from more than 3,800 locations. “Gladiator II,” the sequel to the 2000 historical epic, also pulled in an estimated $55.5 million from more than 3,500 locations.
The opening weekend of both highly anticipated films prompted widespread comparisons to last summer’s “Barbenheimer” phenomenon, when “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” created an unprecedented box office event as well as a cultural moment unlike any other.
With “Gladiator II” and “Wicked,” similar excitement had built up online for months, with many fans gearing up for what they deemed “Glicked” (pronounced glick-id). Nearly 65% of people surveyed in Fandango’s 2024 most anticipated holiday movie survey said they were interested in seeing the two movies as a theatrical double feature.
“Wicked” outperformed “Gladiator II,” more than doubling its earnings to take the No. 1 spot at the global and domestic box offices this weekend. But it fell short of the record-breaking performance of “Barbie,” while “Gladiator II” fell behind the strong opening of “Oppenheimer.”
“Ever since ‘Barbenheimer,’ the whole industry and everyone is just looking for the next mashup that we can put together, and this weekend offered that up,” said Paul Dergarabedian, a senior media analyst at Comscore, a company that tracks box office data.
Dergarabedian added that both films will individually benefit from weeks of playability due to their rave reviews, star-studded casts and creative marketing campaigns — making the “Glicked” phenomenon just the “icing on the cake.” Still, he said, “Barbenheimer” and “Glicked” have shown the industry that this kind of same-day counterprogramming “creates a social buzz that’s undeniable.”
Although the glamorous pink energy around “Barbie” contrasted sharply with the dark and solemn overtones of “Oppenheimer,” the films became a must-see double feature — largely due to the power of internet memes.
Similarly, “Gladiator II” and “Wicked” offered moviegoers the opportunity to lean into the contrasting themes. “Wicked,” starring Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda, is a lively musical filled with Broadway show tunes and theater lore. By comparison, Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II” is an action-packed film with swords, violent battles and ancient warfare.
Universal Pictures, the distributor of “Wicked,” and Paramount Pictures, the distributor of “Gladiator II,” pulled out all the stops for their marketing campaigns — ranging from creating a free “Gladiator” experience at the Colosseum in Rome, hosted by Airbnb, to launching a barrage of green-and-pink “Wicked”-themed merch with dozens of retail partners.
(NBC News and Universal Pictures share Comcast as a parent company.)
David Joshua Taylor, a self-described movie buff who saw both films on opening night, said he wore a “Wicked”-themed Shiz University sweater in one theater before switching to a “Gladiator” sweater for the next.
“It’s such a big event: You got your Broadway theater people, and then obviously you got people just wanting a good time at the movies,” said Taylor, 29. “The whole atmosphere, it’s electrifying.”
Both films also benefited from the buzz — and memes — online.
“Gladiator II” stars Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal have sparked an online fan frenzy, with the actors being affectionately dubbed “babygirls.” “Wicked” generated attention through a playful debate online around whether it’s appropriate etiquette to sing along to the musical’s popular songs in theaters. The film’s press tour also prompted a flurry of viral videos and memes.
Still, “Glicked” didn’t quite replicate the magic of “Barbenheimer,” according to Shawn Robbins, founder of Box Office Theory and director of analytics at Fandango.
“You can’t capture lightning in a bottle twice. The thing’s never going to repeat itself the same way, but it certainly became part of the conversation to an extent,” Robbins said. “But I think going forward, more studios can look at this as another successful blueprint for how to release two big counterprogramming movies at the same time.”
Stars from the films said the choice to participate in the double feature experience is entirely up to moviegoers. But they expressed support for how the dueling films bring people together.
When asked by ET about the trend, Erivo and Grande said, “We like ‘Glicked’ Day.”
Mescal, who plays Lucius in “Gladiator II,” also weighed in, telling Variety he thinks the two films “complement each other really well because they’re so different.”
“And if you love cinema, get out there and support it,” he told the publication. “Don’t wait for it to come on to a streamer, because we’re at a critical junction. We have been for a little while with theatrical films. If cinema is a thing for you, get out and see both films.”
With “Moana 2” hitting theaters next week, plus another batch of releases set to roll out in December, the coming holiday stretch could give movie theaters a massive boost as they close out the year.
The growing trend of “eventification” in the moviegoing experience — as evidenced by the costumes, merchandise and other forms of fan involvement around “Barbenheimer” and “Glicked” — is likely to continue driving the success of many major theatrical releases, according to Robbins.
It’s tapping into something, he said, that’s “inherently unique to that experience of going out to the movie theater with your family or friends, and being able to celebrate it in a way that is just not able to be replicated anywhere else.”
