After her partial acting hiatus, Ariana Grande has made a grand comeback to Hollywood with the musical fantasy film, Wicked. Despite the initial chatter about her relationship with co-star Ethan Slater taking the spotlight last year, it has now become clear that the film is definitely worthy of center stage.
The film is an adaptation of the eponymous stage musical and stars Grande as Glinda alongside Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba. Since its premiere, the film has achieved many milestones and has recently added yet another feather to its cap by leaving behind a blockbuster Marvel movie, in this one regard.
Ariana Grande’s Wicked Has Beaten This Marvel Movie in This Aspect
Ariana Grande began her career in the entertainment industry as an actress and gained recognition for her role as Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon TV series, Victorious. Later, she shifted her focus to music and it took her just a couple of years to ace that as well as she became one of the most famous pop singers in the industry.
Grande did some supporting roles in the subsequent years with the most notable of those being her role in Don’t Look Up. Much to her fans’ delight, she finally took up a lead role in the movie, Wicked, and everyone including herself has been having the time of their lives ever since she began promoting it.
The movie has achieved many milestones since its premiere. Recently, it has made another record by gaining the Cinema Score audience rating of A. This implies that it has also left behind Marvel Studios’ Thor: Love and Thunder which has a Cinema Score audience rating of B+ even though it earned $760.9 million at the box office.
The Jon M. Chu-directed film also features Michelle Yeoh as Shiz University’s headmistress Madame Morrible, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Ethan Slater as Boq, and Marissa Bode as Elphaba’s sister, Nessarose. Besides these actors, it also stars Jeff Goldblum, Bowen Yang, and Peter Dinklage in the roles of Wizard of Oz, Pfannee, and Doctor Dillamond respectively.
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo on Whether or Not Glinda and Elphaba’s Relationship Is Romantic
Some fans of Gregory Maguire’s novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, and its stage adaptation have long been supporters of the ship ‘Gelphie’ which refers to a romantic relationship between the two witches. There have been LGBTQ+ undertones in all of the material so far.
In an interview with Gay Times, Grande and Erivo addressed this openly. The Harriet actress began by saying:
I think Elphie is… She’s goes wherever the wind goes. I think she loves Glinda, I think she loves love. And I don’t think there’s anything wrong with celebrating the deep connection the both of them have. They do have a real relationship. It is true love, which is probably why people are shipping it. What they build with each other is an unbreakable bond and love.
The Just a Little Bit of Your Heart singer claimed that Glinda “might be a little in the closet”. She also did not slash out the possibility of a romantic relationship between the two of them in live-action. This is all the affirmation that the queer fans need from the actresses about the not-so-platonic dynamic of Glinda and Elphaba. Judging by the rave reactions the film has been receiving, their friendship is just as beautiful to watch on the big screen.
Frequently asked questions
In what way did Ariana Grande’s Wicked beat the $760 million Marvel film?
The article explains that Wicked surpassed Marvel Studios’ Thor: Love and Thunder on audience reception, not box office. Wicked earned a CinemaScore audience grade of A, while Thor: Love and Thunder received a B+ even though it grossed roughly $760.9 million worldwide. The comparison is about how moviegoers graded the films on opening night, rather than ticket sales.
Who directed Wicked and who stars in it?
Wicked is directed by Jon M. Chu and stars Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. The supporting cast includes Michelle Yeoh as Shiz University headmistress Madame Morrible, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Ethan Slater as Boq, and Marissa Bode as Nessarose, plus Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard, Bowen Yang as Pfannee, and Peter Dinklage as Doctor Dillamond. The film adapts the stage musical based on Gregory Maguire’s novel.
What does the A CinemaScore say about how Wicked was received?
A CinemaScore grade is based on polling of opening-weekend audiences, so an A indicates that moviegoers responded very positively to Wicked. The article frames this as one of several milestones the film reached after its release, and notes it outranked Thor: Love and Thunder’s B+ on this particular measure. CinemaScore reflects audience sentiment and is separate from critic reviews or box-office totals.
