Ariana Grande’s ‘Wicked’ Sets a Colossal Record That Even Paul Mescal’s Magnum Opus ‘Gladiator 2’ Has Failed to Beat

Every now and then, the movie industry comes up with the showdown of massive productions. If two big-budget movies are released at the same time, critics and viewers often feel the tension. This Thanksgiving weekend brings the same feeling with the release of two major movies of the year.

Jon M. Chu’s live-action adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked will be facing Ridley Scott’s historical action-drama Gladiator 2. As these movies bring out the biggest weapons to fight it out at the box office, a look at early critics and audience responses shows one movie leading the other.

Gladiator 2 vs. Wicked in Critical Reception and Audience Response

As Wicked joins the fight with the story of Elphaba and Glinda starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, Gladiator 2 takes up the spirit of ancient Rome with a leading cast of Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, and Denzel Washington.

It turns out that Wicked is much loved by critics, and it now boasts a rating of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes. The critics loved the musical adaptation, especially the pairing of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.

Clarisse Loughrey of Independent says the movie is an “emotional resonance powered almost entirely by the lungs of lead Cynthia Erivo.” Eric Andersson of People magazine says Grade’s performance “owns the movie.” 

Gladiator 2 has also been received well. However, it does not stand near Wicked with a critics score of 75% on Rotten Tomatoes. Although the critics mostly liked the movie, some felt the sequel lacked the emotional depth of the original, and also the comparison between Russell Crowe and Paul Mescal has not been very light on the new actor.

Both of the films have been praised by critics for distinct reasons. While Wicked was positively reviewed for high-quality visuals and the chemistry between the lead actors, Gladiator 2 got appreciated for the action and performances from veterans like Washington.

The reaction of the audience paints a contrasting picture. Currently, Wicked boasts an audience rating of a staggering 99% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is as good as it can possibly get. Although the audience score in Gladiator 2 has not been released yet, it is hard to top near-perfect. 

Box Office Predictions of Gladiator 2 and Wicked

The box office predictions also show the contrasting competition between the two movies. According to Deadline, Wicked is set to make more than $100 million in its opening weekend in North America. According to Variety, some experts predict that these numbers will rise to $130 million.

However, Gladiator 2 is not too far behind in this, with 3,500 theaters expected to bring in a decent $65 million on its opening weekend (as per Variety). Moreover, Deadline reported that the movie has already grossed $87 million from 63 territories internationally, making it the biggest R-rated opening weekend in overseas territories for Paramount Pictures.

Production costs are not low for either of the two films. As per Variety, the cost of producing Wicked is about $150 million. For Gladiator 2, the production costs alone run over $250 million, and another $100 million has been spent on marketing.

First-day ticket presales have been especially strong for Wicked. According to Deadline, the movie ranks second among the first-day ticket presales in 2024, surpassed only by Deadpool & Wolverine. 

The battle of this weekend can be a turning point for box-office ticket sales in the industry. On one hand, Wicked will be looking to overcome the curse of recent movie adaptations of musicals. On the other hand, Gladiator 2 wishes to make viewers believe that R-rated historical epics aren’t dead yet. 

Wicked and Gladiator 2 will be released in theaters on November 22, 2024.