It’s no surprise that Wicked: For Good — the highly anticipated second half of last year’s Broadway adaptation — takes top billing in this week’s Box Office report, but I’m not sure how many people guessed it would dominate so thoroughly. Not only would you practically never know there were two other new releases on the 2025 movie schedule this weekend, but the musical starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo vanquished records that were set by Wicked: Part I a year ago.
Take a look at the chart below to see where everyone landed, and then we’ll dig a little deeper into the numbers.
|
TITLE |
WEEKEND GROSS |
DOMESTIC GROSS |
LW |
THTRS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1. Wicked: For Good* |
$150,000,000 |
$150,000,000 |
N/A |
4,115 |
|
2. Now You See Me: Now You Don’t |
$9,120,000 |
$36,829,120 |
1 |
3,403 |
|
3. Predator: Badlands |
$6,250,000 |
$76,284,737 |
3 |
3,100 |
|
4. The Running Man |
$5,800,000 |
$27,048,000 |
2 |
3,534 |
|
5. Rental Family* |
$3,300,000 |
$3,300,000 |
N/A |
1,925 |
|
6. SISU: Road to Revenge* |
$2,600,000 |
$2,600,000 |
N/A |
2,222 |
|
7. Regretting You |
$1,520,000 |
$47,258,000 |
4 |
2,709 |
|
8. Nuremberg |
$1,140,000 |
$10,920,000 |
7 |
1,010 |
|
9. Black Phone 2 |
$1,000,000 |
$76,389,000 |
5 |
1,227 |
|
10. Sarah’s Oil |
$771,542 |
$10,352,218 |
8 |
1,347 |
Wicked: For Good Earns $150M Domestically, $226M Globally For Record-Breaking Opening Weekend
Hopes were high that Wicked: For Good, the second half to Jon M. Chu’s two-part blockbuster musical, would at least meet the $114 million made by Wicked in its first three days — which also fell on the weekend before Thanksgiving. It did that and more, earning $150 million to set the new record for Broadway adaptation openings.
It also boasted the biggest opening of a stage musical adaptation internationally and globally, with the $76 million earned outside of North America contributing to an overall haul of $226 million. To compare, the first movie earned $50.2 million internationally for a global total just north of $164 million in its first three days.
Domestically, Wicked: For Good saw the second-biggest opening weekend of 2025, falling behind A Minecraft Movie ($162 million) but ahead of Lilo & Stitch ($146 million). It currently ranks as the 14th top-grossing movie of the year, though it won’t be long before it surpasses Weapons, which stands at $151.6 million, for the 13th spot.
So just how far will it climb through the end of 2025? Wicked: For Good could be defying gravity for quite some time. Despite the movie getting mixed reviews from critics (our own Riley Utley admits to favoring Act I, and even Act II apologist Corey Chichizola couldn’t defend the additions made), it earned an A from CinemaScore, indicating a favorable reaction from moviegoers.
Over on Rotten Tomatoes the general public is also more forgiving than the critics, who gave For Good 70% (compared to Wicked’s 88%), while the audience’s Popcornmeter stands at 95% (the same as the first movie). That means word-of-mouth advertising and repeat viewing is likely to carry it through the end of the year and into 2026.
Wicked: Part I remained in theaters into March 2025, accumulating $475 million domestically and $756 million globally, after all. And, with Act II so far surpassing its predecessor in ticket sales, don’t expect this one to slow down anytime soon.
The Running Man Takes A Dive, Falling 65% In Second Weekend
Meanwhile, a disappointing opening weekend for The Running Man just got worse, which Eric Eisenberg did, unfortunately, predict in last week’s box office report. Glen Powell’s Stephen King remake fell to No. 4 and brought in just $5.8 million — despite being shown in more theaters than every other movie except Wicked: For Good — which is a staggering 65% less than its first three days.
That puts it at $27 million after two weekends, which doesn’t leave much hope for pulling even on Edgar Wright’s reported $110 million budget (which doesn’t include marketing and distribution costs). It’s not getting much help internationally, either, with a worldwide total so far of $48.3 million.
In other Top 5 news, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t dropped to No. 2, also taking a pretty big hit, with its $9.1 million pull marking a 57% decrease over opening weekend. However, Jesse Eisenberg’s series that combines magic and heists historically has made the lion’s share of its money overseas, and that seems to be the case with the third installment as well. After three weekends in theaters, Now You See Me 3 has earned $146 million worldwide after costing $90 million to make.
Rental Family And SISU: Road To Revenge Meet Expectations In Release Alongside Wicked 2
It’s not easy going up against a giant, and the filmmakers behind Rental Family and SISU: Road to Revenge surely didn’t expect to compete with the blockbuster release of Wicked: For Good. Falling at Nos. 5 and 6, respectively, they met expectations that were in the $2 million-to-$3 million range for opening weekend.
Rental Family has gotten plenty of buzz for its lead actor Brendan Fraser, with some thinking the actor might see his name on some ballots again come awards season. It’s got an A on CinemaScore, a Certified Fresh 87% on Rotten Tomatoes (96% from the audience) and an ending that apparently sticks with you. I’m not sure we can count this guy out just yet, as moviegoers could circle back to Rental Family after spending opening weekend in Oz.
My glasses aren’t as rose-colored for SISU: Road to Revenge, however. Its $2.6 million falls behind the first movie’s $3.3 million opening weekend in 2022, although it holds an impressive 96% on the Tomatometer. We’ll have to see if it can improve on that next week.
Only one wide release will hit our screens over Thanksgiving, and it’s got potential to be a doozy. Zootopia 2 premieres Wednesday, November 26, with some high hopes, so meet me back here next Sunday to see how Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde fare against Elphaba and Glinda.