Wicked: Part One Breaks Unbelievable Broadway Record, Proving Musicals Aren’t Dead

The Broadway adaptation of one of the most well-known musicals has managed to make a big splash at the box office. Wicked: Part One has reached almost $200 million in its opening weekend. Despite several musicals in recent years receiving high praise from critics, the box office did not follow suit, and the genre seemingly suffered from declining popularity. Finally, it seems this trend has ended, as Wicked: Part One has managed to collect over $160 million in its opening weekend at the box office.

Wicked: Part One Breaks the Stigma of Musicals

These numbers include not only the domestic box office but also the international one, where the film starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo performed quite well. Putting Disney aside, with some remakes and animated versions featuring music like Frozen, Universal has not seen enormous success with musicals in recent years. One of the industry’s most spectacular failures was Cats in 2019, which opened with just under $10 million during its debut weekend, which considering the history of the show and the cast involved, shocked many in the industry.

Disney’s live-action musical Into the Woods (2014) previously held the record for the best opening weekend for a musical, with $31 million, and as you can see, this has been utterly obliterated now. Wicked: Part One was directed by John M. Chu, who also helmed another musical, In The Heights (2021), as well as Crazy Rich Asians (2018).

Chu will also release the second part of this musical adaptation next year, with the majority of the cast set to return. The entire film takes place in the land of Oz, offering a completely different perspective on the so-called Wicked Witch, compared to the original tale of The Wizard of Oz.

Wicked: Part One has broken a remarkable record for musicals, nearly quadrupling the opening weekend earnings of another of Hollywood’s most successful musicals in recent years. It is worth noting that this Broadway show has been one of the most awarded productions for years in one of the world’s most renowned theater circuits.

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