(Reuters) -“Wicked,” the first of two movies based on a beloved Broadway musical, soared into theaters with an estimated $114 million in U.S. and Canadian ticket sales, distributor Universal Pictures said on Sunday.
“Wicked” stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in the story of how a misunderstood, green-skinned student of magic becomes the Wicked Witch of the West.
Competitor “Gladiator II”, the sequel to a movie that took the Oscar for best picture two decades ago, brought in $55.5 million in domestic theaters, said Paramount Pictures, which is part of Paramount Global.
Based on a Broadway prequel to “The Wizard of Oz”, the movie “Wicked” pulled in $114 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters, plus $50.2 million in international markets, for an estimated global total of $164.2 million.
Universal said “Wicked” had the biggest opening weekend for a film based on a Broadway musical, ahead of the global debut of “Les Miserables”.
“Gladiator II” stars Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington in a story set in ancient Rome, 16 years after the original film.
The sword-and-sandal epic earned $50.5 million in sales globally, bringing the weekend box office total to $106 million. Its total box office tally reached $221 million, reflecting the film’s release last week in markets outside the U.S.
