Another Barbenheimer? Wicked and Gladiator II set to clash at the box office
Stills from Wicked and Gladiator II
Hollywood's next big clash at the box office will unfold in November this year. Universal's film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, Wicked will releaseon November 22 - the same day as Ridley Scott’s epic Gladiator II releases.
Wicked features Ariana Grande as Glinda the Good Witch. It was earlier scheduled to release on November 27 along with Moana 2 but the release has been changedto November 22.
The clash is already drawing comparisons to last year’s “Barbenheimer” event when Greta Gerwig’s Barbie and Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimerhit the screens on the same day.
Much like Wicked and Gladiator II, both films were largely aimed at different kinds of audiences. However, many people committed to seeing the films one after the other just to be a part of the cultural phenomenon. The result was a global phenomenon that breathed new life into theatres across the world.
Barbie became the biggest film of the year, amassing USD 1.45bn at the box office while Oppenheimer earned USD 953.7m.
Oppenheimer dominated awards season, winning seven Oscars.
About Wicked and Gladiator II
The on-screen Wicked story will be split into two parts, with the sequel, Wicked: Part Two, to be released in November 2025.Cynthia Erivo plays the green-skinned anti-hero Elphaba spin off story of Wizard of Oz.
Bridgerton star Jonathan Bailey plays the witches’ love interest Fiyero, Michelle Yeoh plays Madam Morrible and Jeff Goldblum plays the Wizard in the film.
Meanwhile, director Scott’s highly anticipated follow-up to the 2000 classic starring Russell Crowe will tell the story of Lucius (Mescal), the son of Lucilla (portrayed by Connie Nielsen). Lucilla was the lover of Crowe’s soldier Maximus, who came to his demise at the end of the first film.
The film also stars Fred Hechinger, Joseph Quinn and Denzel Washington.
