'Wicked: For Good' to Kick Off a Huge Winter Box Office With $150 Million-Plus Opening

By Jeremy Fuster

The wait is finally over. After weeks of weekend overall grosses below $100 million, theaters are about to get the end-of-year boom period they have been salivating for, starting this Friday with Universal’s “Wicked: For Good.” The follow-up is expected to be massive, with tracking putting it at a $150 million opening weekend — at least.

It was just a year ago when Universal put all of its chips down on Jon M. Chu’s adaptation of the “Wizard of Oz” Broadway musical starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. The studio spared no expense on a no-holds-barred marketing campaign rivaled only in recent years by Warner Bros.’ “Barbie” promotion blitz, aggressively promoting “Wicked” on every NBCUniversal media platform, launching an expansive line of tie-in merch and toys, and sending the film’s cast on a global press tour.