Wicked: For Good soars to deliver the second biggest opening of 2025.

A year since they first flew into cinemas, Elphaba and Glinda have once again cast their spell on the global box office with the release of Wicked: For Good, raking in more than $226 million worldwide across its opening weekend. 

In Australia, the film earned $13.2 million at the box office during its Wednesday to Sunday opening (including preview screenings), surpassing the original Wicked by over +30%, and delivering the second-highest opening of the year, behind A Minecraft Movie. 

It also takes the top spot for the highest opening for a musical adaption in Australia, beating Wicked. 

The film proved popular with audiences, delivering 546,000 admissions, and showcased its appeal across hard-to-reach demographics, with 61% of the total audience falling within the P14-39 demographic and 77% of the audience being female. 

Guy Burbidge, Managing Director of Val Morgan Cinema, said, “Given the incredible success of the original film last year, we knew audiences would come back for this sequel and they have, in droves. It’s been exciting to see so many partners embrace Cinema and capitalise on quality and high value audiences flocking to see Wicked: For Good. 

“It’s a strong start to another huge summer of cinema.” 

Last week, Val Morgan Cinema confirmed Telstra, Suncorp, Paramount+, Audible, Commonwealth Bank, and Coles are all amongst the biggest on-screen partners of the film. 

The momentum is set to carry through the school holidays, with blockbusters like Zootopia 2 and Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 releasing in the consecutive weeks. The third chapter of one of the most bankable cinematic franchises ever, Avatar: Fire and Ash, hits cinemas on 18 December, ahead of the Boxing Day window. On Boxing Day, audiences can look forward to Anaconda, The Housemaid, and The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants. 

“There’s such a strong line-up of films coming out now, and it’s only going to keep building into the new year. With titles like Wuthering Heights, Scream 7, and Project Mail Mary also on the horizon in Q1, audiences are in for some incredible cinema. It’s an exciting time for brands too. There’s really no better place to connect with people than on the big screen.” 
 

Source: CineTAM 2025, Numero.