Wicked (2024 film)

Wicked
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jon M. Chu
Screenplay by	Winnie Holzman Dana Fox
Based on	Wicked by Stephen Schwartz Winnie Holzman Wicked by Gregory Maguire
Produced by	Marc Platt David Stone
Starring	Cynthia Erivo Ariana Grande Jonathan Bailey Ethan Slater Bowen Yang Marissa Bode Peter Dinklage Michelle Yeoh Jeff Goldblum
Cinematography	Alice Brooks
Edited by	Myron Kerstein
Music by	John Powell Stephen Schwartz
Production companies	Universal Pictures Marc Platt Productions
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release dates	November 3, 2024 (2024-11-03) (State Theatre) November 22, 2024 (2024-11-22) (United States)
Running time	160 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$145–150 million

Wicked (titled onscreen as Wicked: Part I) is a 2024 American musical fantasy film directed by Jon M. Chu and written by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox. It is the first of a two-part film adaptation of the stage musical Wicked by Stephen Schwartz and Holzman, loosely based on the 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire. The film stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, with Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum in supporting roles. Set in the Land of Oz, largely before Dorothy Gale's arrival from Kansas, the film covers the musical's first act. It follows the student Elphaba beginning her path to becoming the Wicked Witch of the West, and her unlikely friendship with her classmate Galinda, who becomes Glinda the Good Witch of the North.

Universal Pictures and Marc Platt, who both produced the stage musical, announced the film adaptation in 2012. After a long development and multiple delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chu was hired to direct, with Erivo and Grande cast in 2021. The film was split in two to avoid cutting plot points and to expand the journeys and relationships between the characters. Principal photography on both films began in December 2022 in England, but was disrupted in July 2023 due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, and concluded in January 2024.

Wicked premiered at the State Theatre in Sydney, Australia, on November 3, 2024, and is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on November 22, 2024. It received near-universal acclaim, with praise for direction, performances (particularly Erivo, Grande and Bailey), emotional weight, humor, production values, and faithfulness to the source material, although the runtime was criticized. Wicked Part Two is scheduled for November 21, 2025.

Plot

Some time after Dorothy Gale liquidates the Wicked Witch of the West and all of Oz celebrates her defeat, Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, tells the story of the Wicked Witch, whose real name was Elphaba Thropp. Elphaba was born to Melena Thropp, and upon aging into young adulthood, she and her younger paraplegic sister Nessarose attend a prestigious college in Oz called Shiz University, run by the enigmatic Madame Morrible.

Elphaba's fellow students mock her on account of her green skin. She adopts a frenemy relationship with a younger Glinda, then named Galinda Upland. Morrible takes Elphaba under her personal tutelage after Elphaba unintentionally reveals her magical powers. During the semester at Shiz, Nessa befriends Boq Woodsman, a happy-go-lucky munchkin who likes Galinda. Elphaba soon makes a friend in the rebellious winkie Prince Fiyero Tigelaar, who Galinda is in love with.

Soon, one of Shiz's professors, a talking Goat, Dr. Dillamond, confides in Elphaba that other talkative animals around the land are losing both their civil rights and their ability to speak, and fears he may be next. Elphaba assures Dillamond that Oz's ruler, a wizard who she idolizes (and hopes one day may change her skin from green), will handle the matter. Fiyero soon arranges for a night of clubbing at the Ozdust Ballroom, and Galinda convinces Boq to ask out Nessarose so that she can go with Fiyero. At the Ozdust, Galinda learns she will be allowed in Morrible's sorcery seminar at Elphaba's request. Elphaba is further mocked when she wears a hat Galinda gave to her. However, she and Galinda soon bond during the club's events since Galinda repays Elphaba's kindness.

The next day, Dr. Dillamond announces his retirement due to the school board now disallowing talking animals to work at Shiz. His replacement, the unscrupulous Professor Nikidik, attempts to do a live experimentation on a frightened lion cub, but Elphaba, alongside Fiyero, intervenes, escapes from the school and releases the cub back into the forest. After sharing a moment, Elphaba feels as though Fiyero could not love her as much as Galinda.

Morrible eventually tells Elphaba the Wizard himself wants to meet her after hearing about her magic prowess, and she and Glinda-- choosing to shorten her name in honor of Dr. Dillamond's mispronunciation of it-- soon board a train to Oz's capital, the Emerald City, to meet him. After an eventual positive greeting, he asks Elphaba if her heart's desire is to change her skin color, but she instead says she hopes to help the animals of Oz. The Wizard and Morrible, who followed the girls to the Emerald City, encourage Elphaba to read from the sacred Grimmerie spellbook. Her incantation about flight makes the Wizard's monkey guards painfully sprout wings, much to the glee of the Wizard and Morrible, who are excited at the prospect of using them as spies over Oz. Elphaba realizes they are the ones responsible for the animals losing their humanity and that the Wizard is a fraud-- she was taught and brought to the Emerald City as someone with actual magic to unlock the Grimmerie's power and further subjugate the animals to consolidate the Wizard's rule. Frightened, Elphaba flees as Morrible spreads out a message to the Oz citizens that Elphaba is a wicked witch who wants to do Oz harm.

Glinda finds Elphaba in the attic and attempts to convince her to reconcile with Morrible and the Wizard, but Elphaba decides to stop their plans. She bids an emotional farewell to Glinda, who supports her decision and confirms their deep friendship. Elphaba uses the Grimmerie's flight spell to gain her own ability to defy gravity using a broom, and escapes from the city after sparking a power outage throughout Oz, with the Wizard's monkey guards abandoning him to follow her lead.

Cast

• Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba Thropp, a misunderstood young woman born with green skin who later becomes the Wicked Witch of the West
  • Karis Musongole as young Elphaba
• Ariana Grande as Galinda Upland, a popular young woman who later becomes Glinda the Good Witch of the North
• Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero Tigelaar, a Winkie prince who meets Elphaba and Galinda at school
• Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, the Dean of Sorcery at Shiz University
• Jeff Goldblum as The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, an ordinary man from Omaha, Nebraska who accidentally came to Oz by hot air balloon and became the land's mysterious ruler
• Ethan Slater as Boq Woodsman, a Munchkin in love with Galinda
• Marissa Bode as Nessarose Thropp, Elphaba's paraplegic younger sister who later becomes the Wicked Witch of the East
  • Cesily Collette Taylor as young Nessarose
• Peter Dinklage as the voice of Doctor Dillamond, a goat and history professor at Shiz University
• Bowen Yang as Pfannee, one of Galinda's college friends
• Bronwyn James as ShenShen, another of Galinda's college friends
• Aaron Teoh as Avaric, Fiyero's friend
• Shaun Prendergast as Shiz President
• Keala Settle as Miss Coddle
• Colin Michael Carmichael as Professor Nikidik, a professor at Shiz University
• Adam James as Galinda's father, nicknamed "Popsicle" by Galinda
• Alice Fearn as Galinda's mother, nicknamed "Momsie" by Galinda
• Andy Nyman as Governor Thropp, Elphaba and Nessarose's father and the Governor of Munchkinland
• Courtney-Mae Briggs as Mrs. Thropp, Elphaba and Nessarose's mother
• Sharon D. Clarke as the voice of Dulcibear, a Bear who helps deliver Elphaba during her birth and acts as a nanny to the Thropp family
• Jenna Boyd as the voice of Wolf Doctor, a doctor who helps deliver Elphaba during her birth
• Stephen Stanton as the voice of Fiyero's horse

Additionally, the Cowardly Lion makes an appearance as a Lion cub. Dorothy Gale, a Kansas farm girl who is accidentally transported to the Land of Oz by a tornado with her dog Toto, is featured alongside the Scarecrow, Tin Man and an adult version of the Cowardly Lion in a brief cameo early in the film. Ama Clutch, a character from the Wicked novels but not present in the musical, also appears. Multiple cameos take place during the “One Short Day” sequence. The original Elphaba and Glinda actresses, Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, respectively, appear as Wiz-O-Mania Super Stars. Composer Stephen Schwartz cameos as the Emerald City guard who announces to Elphaba and Glinda that "the wizard will see them now". Various notable West End actors also make cameo appearances in the film, including Kerry Ellis, Luke Bayer, Georgina Onuorah, and Dianne Pilkington.

Production

Development

Director Jon M. Chu (left) and composer Stephen Schwartz

In 2003, the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, a revisionist exploration of the characters and setting of L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, was adapted as the Broadway musical Wicked. The musical was produced by Universal Pictures' stage division and directed by Joe Mantello, with musical staging by Wayne Cilento. The Broadway production has inspired long-run productions in Chicago, London, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, as well as Germany, Australia and Japan. It was nominated for ten Tony Awards, winning three, and is the 4th longest-running Broadway show in history, with over 7,500 performances, running for over 20 years. The original Broadway production starred Idina Menzel as Elphaba and Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda.

In a 2009 interview, Maguire stated that he had sold the rights to ABC to make an independent non-musical TV adaptation of Wicked. It would not be based on Holzman's script. On January 9, 2011, it was reported by Entertainment Weekly that ABC would be teaming up with Salma Hayek and her production company to create a TV miniseries of Wicked based solely on Maguire's novel. No further information, such as casting, had been revealed yet.

Chenoweth and Menzel were mentioned as possible film leads. Lea Michele and Amy Adams were also rumored to be potential leads. Potential writers included Winnie Holzman and Stephen Schwartz, while J. J. Abrams, Rob Marshall, James Mangold, and Ryan Murphy were mentioned as possible candidates for director. In December 2012, following the success of Les Misérables, Marc Platt, also a producer of the stage version, announced the film was going ahead, later confirming the film was aiming for a 2016 release. After a long development, Universal announced in 2016 that the film would be released in theatres on December 20, 2019, with Stephen Daldry directing. By 2024, Holzman was credited as the sole writer. In August 2024, it was determined by the Writers Guild of America that Dana Fox collaborated with Holzman on the screenplay and that Craig Mazin contributed additional literary material.

Pre-production

In May 2017, Schwartz stated that the film would feature "at least two" new songs. On August 31, 2018, Universal put the film on hold, due to production scheduling, and gave the film adaptation of Cats the release date formerly held by the film. On February 8, 2019, Universal announced a new release date of December 22, 2021, for the Wicked film. On April 1, 2020, Universal put the film on hold once again due to Universal shifting release dates amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and gave Sing 2 the 2021 release date. On October 20, 2020, it was announced that Daldry had left the production due to scheduling conflicts. On February 2, 2021, it was announced that Jon M. Chu would take over as director. Serving as executive producers would be Schwartz, Holzman, Fox, David Nicksay and Jared LeBoff. In August, Alice Brooks was confirmed as the film's cinematographer, after working with Chu before on the film version of In the Heights.

The film's main supporting cast includes Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater and Marissa Bode.

In November, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were cast as Glinda and Elphaba, respectively. Grande had previously performed "The Wizard and I", a song from the musical, in the NBC special Wicked 15th Anniversary. Erivo previously had performed "I Couldn't Be Happier", an excerpt from the song "Thank Goodness", in the PBS special Wicked in Concert. It was reported that Grande auditioned five times for the role of Glinda. Dove Cameron, Taylor Louderman, Renee Rapp and Amanda Seyfried also auditioned for Glinda. In June 2022, Chu confirmed the hiring of Nathan Crowley as production designer. On September 21, 2022, it was reported that Jonathan Bailey had joined the cast as Fiyero, beating fellow competitors Ryan McCartan (who played the role from 2018-2019 on Broadway), Nick Jonas and Joe Jonas for the part. In October 2022, it was announced that Jeff Goldblum was in final talks to star as The Wizard. Goldblum completed talks by December, when Ethan Slater, Michelle Yeoh, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Keala Settle, Aaron Teoh and Colin Michael Carmichael were added to the cast. In April 2024, it was revealed at the 2024 CinemaCon that Peter Dinklage had been cast as Dr. Dillamond.

About preparing for the role of Elphaba, Erivo said to Variety, while expressing her desire to see the stage version on Broadway again before filming: "I'm relearning everything ... I want to go and see it again. ... When I get to New York at some point I'll pop in and see the show again, that'll be my fifth time." She also said at that time that discussions were underway on what the film will look like, particularly its production design and visual style, and confirmed the hiring of Paul Tazewell as costume designer. Her request to him for Elphaba's costume when she becomes the Wicked Witch of the West involved "a Jean Paul Gaultier collection with a 'new world, kind of gilded age' feeling". Erivo also contributed to several other parts of Elphaba's appearance, notably her hair and nails (always important in Erivo's looks): "I knew I wanted [Elphaba] to have micro braids and I wanted her to have a full set [of nails] for two reasons: [they are] a nod to my culture and a nod to the world of Oz." She also stated: "I imagined that her nails were a part of her magic – that they just grew out of her and she hadn’t yet discovered why, like her green skin."

Filming

Principal photography was set to commence in June 2022 at the Sky Studios Elstree facilities in the United Kingdom. In July 2021, Stephen Schwartz indicated there were plans to film in Atlanta that year. On April 26, 2022, Chu announced the adaptation will be filmed in two parts, Wicked and Wicked Part Two, saying:

As we prepared the production over the last year, it became impossible to wrestle the story of 'Wicked' into a single film without doing some real damage to it ... As we tried to cut songs or trim characters, those decisions began to feel like fatal compromises to the source material that has entertained us all for so many years. We decided to give ourselves a bigger canvas and make not just one 'Wicked' movie but two! With more space, we can tell the story of 'Wicked' as it was meant to be told while bringing even more depth and surprise to the journeys for these beloved characters.

In June 2022, Stephen Schwartz confirmed that a new song would be written for one of the two films:

We found it very difficult to get past 'Defying Gravity' without a break ... That song is written specifically to bring a curtain down, and whatever scene to follow it without a break just seemed hugely anti-climactic ... Even as a very long single movie, it required us cutting or omitting things that we wanted to include and that we think fans of the show and the story will appreciate. What we have discussed is that changes need to be 'additive', to use (producer) Marc Platt's term. They need to add something to the story or the characters. They can't just be changes to do something different. I feel confident that by the time the movie is made, if we all continue to have the same degree of input, I could have a conversation with anyone who has a question about any of the changes made from the stage show and justify why I think it's better for the movie.

On July 18, it was revealed that with the filming process settled at the newly-built Sky Studios in Elstree, England, rehearsals would begin in August with principal photography beginning in November. On December 9, Chu confirmed on Twitter that filming had begun.

On September 23, Planning Statement, in support of a planning application submitted on behalf of Western Sky Limited, indicated that outdoor filming would occur at a site being developed at Ivinghoe Turf in Ivinghoe, Buckinghamshire, UK. Early into filming, paparazzi from The Daily Mail were seen flying over the Munchkinland set by hang glider with GoPro cameras attached to their feet as Ariana Grande and the cast and crew filmed "No One Mourns the Wicked", the opening number of the first film. This resulted in the first pictures of Grande in full costume as Glinda being leaked online and sparking online hype and excitement for the adaptation. On this, Grande reflected during a conversation with co-star Jonathan Bailey in an interview for VMan: "I think we were very spoiled to have done this with him [Chu]. It felt like a teeny, little secret student thing — it's intimacy ... It felt so small and private until all of a sudden, we were outside, and the Daily Mail was hand gliding [sic] over our set — oh, he should play the pterodactyl in your film [Jurassic World Rebirth]."

The original planned shooting dates were between April 6 and July 14, 2023, with principal photography set to wrap with the "One Short Day" sequence on July 25, before filming was suspended from July 13 to November 8 due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Filming resumed on January 24, 2024, and concluded on January 26, with Chu then revealing that the vocals of the actors during the musical numbers were recorded live on set, particularly at the insistence of Erivo and Grande. Academy Award-winning production sound mixer Simon Hayes collaborated with Chu on the recordings of the actors' vocals, using a variation of the same recording techniques that were implemented on Les Misérables. Chu also cited Steven Spielberg's 1991 film Hook as a source of inspiration for the film's use of large-scale sets and practical effects to bring the many elements of the Land of Oz to life, including nine million colorful tulips planted on location to surround the Munchkinland set, an actual Yellow Brick Road paved on the ground with real mud and a life-size art deco-inspired train to transport Elphaba and Glinda to the Emerald City which he called "The Unlimited One". Chu also cited the 1998 films Pleasantville and The Truman Show as influences on how both Wicked and Wicked Part Two thematically portray the Land of Oz, saying, "It helps create this idea of the rebelliousness that this new younger generation are discovering ... How far will that take everybody in Oz throughout the course of the whole story of both movies? It's an awakening of a generation. You start to see the truth about things that maybe you were taught differently."

Post-production and visual effects

On February 6, 2024, it was confirmed on Twitter that Industrial Light & Magic and Framestore provided the film's visual effects with Pablo Helman serving as production visual effects supervisor, and that post-production work was in progress, with Chu working remotely with editor Myron Kerstein via communication through the newly-released Apple Vision Pro. Post-production on the first film was completed on September 19, 2024.

Music

Main article: Wicked: The Soundtrack

The soundtrack albums for both Wicked and Wicked Part Two will be released by Republic Records/Verve Label Group, Grande and Erivo's respective record labels, with the soundtrack of the first film being released on November 22, 2024. In July 2024, it was revealed that John Powell had composed the incidental underscore for the film and will do the same for Wicked Part Two. Jeff Atmajian updated the late William David Brohn's original orchestrations for the songs and enlarged the orchestra from the stage version's original 23 musicians to 80 for the film. The recording sessions for the music took place at AIR Studios in London, with the musical's original music director Stephen Oremus conducting the song cues and Powell conducting the incidental score cues, both with the London Symphony Orchestra. Greg Wells, Oremus and Schwartz served as music producers.

Musical numbers

• "Overture" – The Wicked Orchestra
• "No One Mourns the Wicked" – Glinda, Frexspar Thropp, Melena Thropp, Traveling Salesman, Midwife and Ozians
• "Dear Old Shiz" – Students and Glinda
• "The Wizard and I" – Madame Morrible and Elphaba
• "What Is This Feeling?" – Glinda, Elphaba and Students
• "Something Bad" – Doctor Dillamond and Elphaba
• "Dancing Through Life" – Fiyero, Glinda, Boq, Nessarose, Elphaba and Students
• "Ozdust Duet" – The Wicked Orchestra
• "Popular" – Glinda
• "I'm Not That Girl" – Elphaba
• "One Short Day" – Elphaba, Glinda, Wiz-o-Mania Superstars and Ozians
• "A Sentimental Man" – The Wizard
• "Defying Gravity" – Elphaba, Glinda and Ozians
• "Part 1 Finale" – The Wicked Orchestra

The only song from the musical's first act cut from the film was the reprise of "The Wizard and I," sung by Elphaba and Madame Morrible the moment the former is given the invitation to meet the Wizard at the Emerald City.

Stage-to-screen changes

Splitting the film adaptation into two parts gave the filmmakers the opportunity to dive deeper into the relationships between the characters, and showcase scenes that were either created for the film or pulled directly from Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel and L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to bring the story full circle. The films will delve deeper into the two main characters of Elphaba and Glinda, allowing movie audiences to understand them better. The film's title card utilizes the font from the opening titles of the 1939 film of The Wizard of Oz and the Universal Pictures logo at the beginning is stylized as its 1930s form animated in the style of the studio's current logo in use since 2012.

For the first film, changes include showing Elphaba's private tutoring sessions with Madame Morrible in learning how to control her powers, new flashback scenes depicting Elphaba as a child being ridiculed by the children of Munchkinland for her green skin and more moments to show the dynamic of her and Nessarose as sisters. Contrary to the book and the traditional casting of Pfannee as a woman in the musical, the character was genderbent as an Asian man. The film's biggest change involves the song, "Dancing Through Life". Instead of the first part of the song taking place outside the Shiz University campus, it starts inside the university's circular, rotating library, complete with an added extended dance break. The Ozdust Ballroom portion of the number was both altered and expanded upon, reimagining the ballroom as what Jon M. Chu called a nightclub in "the underbelly of Oz", complete with a musical band with Animals playing instruments. The musical number "Popular" is also extended with additional key changes and vocal extensions.

In the musical, it is implied that Glinda's Good Witch title is of the South and is always referred to as simply "Glinda the Good," but for the film, she is given the title "Good Witch of the North" to both reflect her coming from the Upper Uplands and pay homage to the character's portrayal by Billie Burke in the 1939 film of The Wizard of Oz. The character arc of Boq is expanded upon for the film, complete with giving him the surname Woodsman. The musical number "Something Bad" is changed to a private meeting of Animals at Dr. Dillamond’s home off Shiz campus. There, the Animals sing to each other about the state of Oz rather than to Elphaba directly as in the stage show. The climatic shot of the "Defying Gravity" sequence where Elphaba does her signature "battle cry," initially teased by Chu in an Instagram story, pays homage to the iconic "cherry picker effect" used to lift the actress playing Elphaba off the stage during the climax of the song. The sequence itself is also extended to make it work as the finale of the first film in order for it to leave viewers on a cliffhanger, setting the stage for Wicked Part Two, complete with a "To be continued..." title card.

Marketing

On April 16, 2023, first-look pictures of the film were released through social media, featuring Erivo's Elphaba and Grande's Glinda. Work in process footage from the film, featuring first listens to Grande and Erivo's respective renditions of "Popular" and "Defying Gravity", was then presented at CinemaCon on April 26, 2023, introduced on stage by Universal Pictures chairwoman Donna Langley. The first trailer for the film, in the form of a 60 second "First Look", premiered during Super Bowl LVIII on February 11, 2024. The film returned to CinemaCon on April 10, 2024 to present new footage and marked the first time the cast and crew appeared together in public to promote the film. Costumes and props were also on display in the lobby of the venue during this event. A featurette featuring behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with Chu, Erivo and Grande on how much Wicked and Wicked Part Two mean to them as a cinematic passion project, debuted at the 2024 NBCUniversal Upfront event at Radio City Music Hall on May 13, 2024 and was released online shortly after. The official 3-minute theatrical trailer for the film was released on May 15, 2024, followed by a version produced and animated entirely in the Lego brickfilm style on May 29, 2024. The Lego version was later attached to the theatrical screenings of the animated Pharrell Williams film Piece by Piece. A behind-the-scenes television special, Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked, aired on NBC on November 19, 2024, to promote the film. The network also hosted a promotional tie-in for the film during its coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris throughout the summer, with Erivo, Grande and Yeoh attending the opening ceremony, a viral video of the Emerald City's "Unlimited One" train cruising down tracks in front of the Eiffel Tower and extensive advertising during primetime coverage of the Women's Gymnastics event, with Chu and the cast in attendance at the Qualifying round.

On September 4, 2024, character posters were revealed ahead of the release of a new trailer the next day, which remixed "Defying Gravity" with Herbert Stothart's iconic "Wicked Witch/Miss Gulch" motif from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's now-Warner Bros.-owned 1939 film version of The Wizard of Oz. On October 12, 2024, Grande hosted an episode of the 50th anniversary season of Saturday Night Live to promote the film, with Bowen Yang also appearing during her opening monologue dressed in Grande's Glinda costume. On October 19, 2024, Erivo, Grande, Goldblum and Chu attended the 4th Academy Museum Gala in support of their industry colleagues, with Erivo and Grande also posing for photos with the pair of ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz that the museum currently owns. On October 27, 2024, a dance routine themed after the film was performed on an episode of the sixth season of ¿Quién es la máscara? (the Mexican version of The Masked Singer) to promote the film's release in Mexico. Erivo, Grande, and Chu attended a fan event, a collaboration with Los 40 Mexico, at the Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City on November 11. Erivo and Grande appeared on November 4 on The Project; they appeared individually on November 13 and November 14 on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote and discuss the movie. The cast also appeared on November 19 during the sixth season of The Kelly Clarkson Show to promote the film and perform with Clarkson herself.

A wide range of merchandising for the film across toys, apparel, books, beauty products, and accessories was released by Universal Products & Experiences ahead of the film's release. This involved retail experiences at the Universal Destinations & Experiences and partnerships with brands including Aerie, Bombas, Cambridge Satchel Company, Conair, Swarovski, Ulta Beauty, Wella, Crocs, Zaks, Build-A-Bear Workshop, Hallmark, HarperCollins, Hilton, Hasbro, Funko, Insight Editions, Jakks Pacific, Jazwares, Random House, Ravensburger, Spin Master, Starbucks, Betty Crocker, Apple, Amazon, Android, Samsung, Google, Bloomingdale's, Forever 21, Kohl's, H&M, JCPenney, Target and Walmart. Lego and Mattel served as the lead toy partners. On the announcement, Vince Klaseu, president of Universal Products & Experiences, remarked: "It has been so fun to develop and expand the beloved story of Wicked and bring these incredible characters and worlds to life through magical products and immersive retail experiences; our global merchandise program across retail and theme parks reflects the film's empowering themes and bold iconography, paving the way for even more excitement in 2025 with Wicked Part Two ... Wicked is very special to us, and we can't wait for fans to embrace these inspiring characters this holiday season." On October 1, Ariana Grande's cosmetics brand R.E.M. Beauty released a collaboration inspired by the film. On October 21, 2024, the film partnered with Lexus with an "Experience Ozmazing" brand spot featuring the 2024 Lexus TX. A 96-page Wicked-focused special-edition issue of People magazine, featuring exclusive cast interviews and pictures from production, was published on November 1.

On May 15, 2024, the film launched an interactive website for Shiz University, allowing fans to apply for a 2024 semester at the college before August 15. In September 2024, influencers on various social media platforms started sharing their "acceptance letters and packages" from Shiz, containing a personalized acceptance letter from Madame Morrible herself, a map of the campus, a newspaper (reporting "Prince Fiyero spotted at Shiz"), a pin and a university jumper. Other fans who applied received their acceptance letters via email, with those applying late for the college being denied admission.

On October 10, 2024, it was announced that the film would launch the "Journey Through Oz" Press Tour during the weeks leading up to the film's release, with Erivo, Grande, Goldblum and other cast members stopping in the following cities to meet-and-greet with fans and host the premiere screenings of the film, with each city being transformed into some of the film's various locations: Sydney (Munchkinland), Los Angeles (Shiz University), Mexico City (Enchanted Forest), New York (Ozdust Ballroom), and London (Emerald City). For the launch in Sydney, the red carpet leading to the State Theatre was transformed into the Yellow Brick Road, with actors Erivo, Grande, Goldblum, Bailey, Bode and Slater greeting fans along the way to the premiere. Chu was unable to attend, due to him and his wife Kristin Hodge expecting their fifth child. Grande wore a Vivienne Westwood pink gown for the occasion, as a clear homage to the original Glinda from The Wizard of Oz. For the Los Angeles premiere, Michelle Yeoh joined the cast present at the Sydney premiere, while Chu still wasn't able to attend due to the birth of his fifth child. Chu shared the announcement on his Instagram stories, quoting lyrics from "Thank Goodness," one of the songs from the musical: “Today is a day I’ve been dreaming about for a long time. Two babies (a movie and a little girl) all at one time and I truly couldn’t be happier.” The original Elphaba and Glinda, Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, also attended the premiere in Los Angeles. Danna Paola and Cecilia de la Cueva, who played the two characters in the Mexican production of the musical, attended the premiere in Mexico City. Free listening parties of the film's soundtrack took place for the general public in numerous record stores across the US, from November 20 through 22.

Controversies

Poster criticism

The poster that features Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Galinda recreating the stage musical's original poster art, which led to many re-edits and parodies, with one in particular becoming the source of controversy surrounding Erivo and her negative reaction to it.

On October 9, 2024, to coincide with tickets going on sale, a poster was released with Erivo and Grande as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively, recreating the original poster art of the stage musical. Reception towards the poster was mixed, and it resulted in the creation of "fan edits" designed to bring the poster closer to the original art, using Adobe Photoshop and generative AI tools. The poster was also mocked with a video made with Runway AI to make it look like Elphaba and Glinda in the image were catfighting. It also became the subject of viral internet memes, with legitimate parodies replacing Elphaba with Charli XCX in a promotional image for her and Grande's remix of "Sympathy Is a Knife," Audrey II from the 2019 Off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors and Jay Gatsby (as portrayed by Jeremy Jordan) from the 2024 Broadway musical production of The Great Gatsby.

On October 15, 2024, a Twitter user created their own edit, attempting to more accurately match the movie poster to the original theatrical poster, making edits by obscuring Elphaba's eyes, raising Glinda's hand to cover her mouth, and giving Elphaba smirking red lips. Although many fans considered it an improvement, the following day Erivo shared a repost of the edited poster on her Instagram story, writing:

This is the wildest, most offensive thing I have seen, equal to that awful AI [sic] of us fighting, equal to people posing the question 'is your pussy green'. [a reference to a 2014 meme] ... None of this is funny. None of it is cute. It degrades me. It degrades us. The original poster is an illustration. I am a real life human being, who chose to to [sic] look right down the barrel of the camera to you, the viewer...because without words we communicate with our eyes. Our poster is an homage not an imitation, to edit my face and hide my eyes is to erase me. And that is just deeply hurtful.

The user later deleted the post out of respect for the actress, saying their intentions were not malicious and they had not anticipated the reaction. However, on October 20, the user reposted their edit, saying while they felt Erivo was valid in her feelings, they stood by that the edit was "an innocent fan edit to pay homage to the original Broadway poster". On October 19, during the 4th Academy Museum Gala red carpet arrivals, Grande responded to the controversy, saying, "I think it's very complicated because I find AI so conflicting and troublesome sometimes, but I think it's just kind of such a massive adjustment period ... This is something that is so much bigger than us, and the fans are gonna have fun and make their edits ... And I have so much respect for my sister, Cynthia, and I love her so much." Erivo herself received backlash for lashing out at the fan, with fans and critics accusing her of overreacting and having an inflated ego. On October 29, Erivo was asked by Entertainment Tonight about the nature of her comments and responded to the backlash against her, and said "it wasn’t necessarily a clapback ... Because I think I'm really protective of the role ... I am passionate about it, and I know that the fans are passionate about it, and I think, for me, it was just like a human moment of wanting to protect little Elphaba. It was a human moment. I probably should've called my friends, but it's fine."

Mattel dolls

Mattel produced a series of dolls for the film portraying main characters Glinda and Elphaba. However, there have been multiple controversies surrounding these dolls. In August 2024, two song snippets from the film ("Popular" and "Defying Gravity") were leaked, as these songs were used in the sound chip in their line of singing dolls. Ariana's version of "Popular" had been kept under wraps up until that point, which led to multiple fans excited for the film to be upset as part of the element of surprise was ruined, while others praised Ariana's performance despite the leak.

In November 2024, the doll box and the manual for many dolls in the Wicked line were found to contain links to the website of the adult film studio Wicked Pictures (www.wicked.com) instead of the movie's own website (www.wickedmovie.com). Mattel apologized for the error, and asked parents who had bought products with the incorrect website to destroy the packaging.

Release

The State Theatre in Sydney, where Wicked held its world premiere

Originally announced as one film, Wicked was split into two films in April 2022. The first half premiered in Sydney, Australia at the State Theatre on November 3, 2024, with premieres that followed in Los Angeles at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on November 9, 2024, in Mexico City at the Auditorio Nacional on November 11, 2024, and in London at the Royal Festival Hall on November 18, 2024. It was theatrically released by Universal Pictures on November 21 in Australia and Mexico, and on November 22 in the United States, with engagements in RealD 3D, IMAX, Dolby Cinema, 4DX, ScreenX and D-Box. This will be followed by its Polish premiere as the closing night film of the 32nd International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography Camerimage on November 23, 2024, with cinematographer Alice Brooks and production designer Nathan Crowley (who will receive the 2024 Production Designer Award at the festival) in attendance. Advance screenings of the film took place on November 18, 2024 for Amazon Prime members, and for the general public on November 20, 2024. These two screenings marked the only times during the film's theatrical release that most theaters across the United States were simultaneously able to show the film in IMAX, due to Gladiator II taking over most of those screens on opening weekend. A sing-along version of the film will be released theatrically on December 25, 2024.

The film was previously scheduled to be released on December 20, 2019, December 22, 2021, December 25, 2024, and November 27, 2024, with the latter release date to avoid competition with Avatar: Fire and Ash and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (the former of which was later delayed to 2025 after Thunderbolts*, and later Mufasa: The Lion King took its date), before moving forward by five days to its current date to avoid competition with Moana 2, with the new date putting it against Gladiator II. This sparked speculation on whether the film and Gladiator II sharing a release date could result in a scenario similar to the Barbenheimer phenomenon, which was a result of Barbie and Oppenheimer both being released on July 21, 2023. On July 10, 2024, Gladiator II star Paul Mescal officially dubbed the pair-up as "Glicked" and voiced his support for the two films to be shown as a double feature, saying, "It would be amazing 'cause I think the films couldn't be more polar opposites and it worked in that context previously. So fingers crossed people come out and see both films on opening weekend." Jeff Goldblum believed that there would be no competition between the two films, saying that "it's an abundance mentality world with enough to go around." With the film being released two weeks after the 2024 United States presidential election, Marc Platt reflected on the story's increasing relevance in the current political climate, saying, "It's a significant election for both of us, but our story aspires to be about the distance people travel to connect with each other, about seeing the other as not the other, about living in a world where sometimes the truth is not real."

A private screening of the film was held at the home of Kim Kardashian on October 22, 2024, exclusively attended by her family alongside Erivo and Grande. Another private screening took place at the DGA Theater in New York City on October 28, 2024, attended by Erivo, Grande, Chu, Platt, Schwartz, original Broadway cast members Kristin Chenoweth, Norbert Leo Butz and Christopher Fitzgerald, members of the current Broadway cast, and other actresses who had played Elphaba and Glinda on Broadway and national tour over the years. The screening was preceded by a video greeting from Idina Menzel, who could not attend due to rehearsals being underway for the new musical Redwood. A screening hosted by Anna Wintour was held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on November 14, 2024, attended by the cast members of the film and other celebrities. Screenings for the general public took place at the State Theatre in Sydney from November 20 through November 22.

Localization

Ceci de la Cueva and Danna Paola (left) as Glinda and Elphaba in 2014, and Myra Ruiz (right) as Elphaba in 2016.

The movie was released in a number of countries dubbed following the local productions of the original musical staged along the years. In a number of cases, the lead characters are set to be voiced by performers who had previously portrayed them on stage in local productions. That will be the case of Danna Paola and Ceci de la Cueva in Latin American Spanish, Myra Ruiz and Fabi Bang in Brazilian Portuguese, and Park Hye-na and Jeong Sunah in Korean, who had all previously played Elphaba and Glinda respectively in the original local productions of the musical. It will also be the case of Sabrina Weckerlin in German, who first played Elphaba in 2007 as an alternate in the original German production, as well as of Johanne Milland in Danish, who is currently playing Glinda in the on-going Danish production of the musical. Dutch actor Vajèn van den Bosch, who played Elphaba in the German production in 2021, will instead come back as Glinda in Dutch.

Additionally, Willemijn Verkaik and Chantal Janzen, who had played Elphaba and Glinda respectively in the original 2011 Dutch production of the musical, are set to make a cameo appearance in the Dutch dubbing of the movie.

Opposite to other localizations, which were based on previously existing theatrical versions of the show, two days ahead of the movie's release a first-time Norwegian production of the musical was announced to be in the making, and scheduled to premier in 2025.

Reception

Box office

Pre-release sales

Tickets for Wicked went on sale on October 9, 2024, the day after Paramount Pictures released their tickets for Gladiator II. On October 10, Fandango reported that the film became the site's number 2 first-day ticket pre-seller of 2024, behind Marvel Studios' Deadpool & Wolverine, as well as the best PG-rated first-day ticket pre-seller of the year and the number 3 best PG-rated first-day ticket pre-seller of all time, behind Frozen 2 and the 2019 remake of The Lion King (both from Disney). According to Deadline Hollywood, Quorum projects Wicked to gross $67–74 million in its domestic opening weekend, while Box Office Theory projects it will gross $96–150 million and Boxoffice Pro projecting it will be $100–125 million, topping the box office ahead of Gladiator II. Initial skepticism was directed towards the notion that musical films post-pandemic would not be profitable. On November 19, 2024, projections were raised to a $165–200 million worldwide opening (with $125–150 million domestically), with positive word-of-mouth and the film's awards season buzz cited as the reasons.

Critical response

Erivo (center) and Grande (right) received widespread acclaim for their performances, with Bailey (left) being cited as a standout by several critics

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 208 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Defying gravity with its magical pairing of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, Wicked's sheer bravura and charm make for an irresistible invitation to Oz." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 72 out of 100, based on 57 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

The film was screened exclusively for influencers, awards season pundits and entertainment industry personnel on the Universal Studios Lot on October 16, 2024. Early reactions were overwhelmingly positive, with praise directed towards the performances of Erivo, Grande and Bailey, the transition from stage to screen, and the visuals.

Jazz Tangcay of Variety called the film "a musical masterpiece that is much more than we could have ever expected" and praised Chu's direction, the performances and the sets and costumes. Antonia Blyth of Deadline Hollywood called it "a blast from start to finish" and "a delicious, hilarious romp that shows off Erivo and Grande's next-level talent and laugh-out-loud comedy chops. They serve up every number with surprises, delights and genuine depth." Journalist Scott Menzel deemed it as "one of the very best big screen adaptations of a Broadway musical ever." Erin Strecker of IndieWire was also positive, praising Grande's performance. Gregory Ellwood of The Playlist singled out Grande as the film's highlight, saying "The pop megastar often delivers startling depth to her character before jumping into a musical number that will have you grinning from ear to ear. You sort of can't believe what you’re watching." Chris Murphy of Vanity Fair wrote: "The way that Glinda works in the story, it's so funny and there is so many comedic moments, but as it goes on she really becomes the unsuspecting heart and a really sympathetic character. Obviously it's only half the story, but there is a full complete movie arc in this one act." James Berardinelli of Reelviews said that "Although Wicked: Part 1 has its share of high points (some of which aim very high), the filmmakers seem to have embraced the concept of 'bloat' as a beneficial characteristic." Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com similarly said that "When it's all about the spectacle of big, splashy production numbers, this prequel to The Wizard of Oz is thrilling" but that "Far less effective is the way Chu...wedges in the movie's heavier themes of authoritarianism."

Among the supporting casts, Bailey has been singled out by several critics as a standout with praise for his charisma and dancing and singing skills. The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw wrote that he "uncorks an outrageous scene-stealer as the heterocamp Fiyero". "Dancing Through Life", his character's musical number, has been described as "the adaptation’s biggest musical accomplishment" by People's Christian Holub.

Gregory Maguire, author of the original novel (left), Idina Menzel (center) and Kristin Chenoweth (right), who originated the roles of Elphaba and Glinda on Broadway respectively, praised the film.

In his introduction for the movie tie-in edition of the original novel, author Gregory Maguire commended the efforts of the filmmakers in bringing his story to the screen, and praised the performances of the cast, saying, "I watched Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as the cameras rolled. Their ability to inhabit their characters – and Jonathan Bailey's ability too – were intimidatingly powerful." Kristin Chenoweth, who originated the role of Glinda on Broadway, praised the film and was said to have been very emotional as the credits rolled, saying, "It is so good. It is so special. The story is so wonderful and Cynthia and Ariana are amazing. The whole cast is amazing. Jon Chu nailed it. I was so moved, emotional, happy, filled with joy." Idina Menzel, who originated the role of Elphaba on Broadway, said on her X page "The film is so loving and respectful of the original show, but then builds on it in so many beautiful ways I never thought possible. The cast is spectacular. Cynthia and Ariana will blow you away. Extremely moving and emotional for me." Lorna Luft, one of the daughters of Judy Garland, who portrayed Dorothy in the 1939 film, called the film "breathtaking to look at" and "everything I wanted it to be".

Accolades

In September 2024, it was announced that Erivo and Grande will not be competing in the same category, with Erivo participating as "Lead Actress" and Grande as "Supporting Actress.” During its awards campaign, the film was screened for 900 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the largest for an Academy screening since Oppenheimer, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in November 2024, with other screenings held that same month for members of the Directors Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA. All screenings were reported to have received "rousing" standing ovations from those in attendance, hinting at potential strong support from voters during awards season.

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
The Queerties	February 24, 2022	Next Big Thing	Wicked	Nominated
	March 12, 2024			Nominated
Astra Midseason Movie Awards	July 3, 2024	Most Anticipated Movie		Nominated
Manaki Brothers Film Festival	September 27, 2024	SUMOLIGHT Creative Synergy Award	Alice Brooks (cinematographer) and Dave Smith (gaffer)	Won
Heartland Film Festival	November 18, 2024	Truly Moving Picture Award	Wicked	Won
Hollywood Music In Media Awards	November 20, 2024	Song - Onscreen Performance (Film)	Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande for "Defying Gravity"	Nominated
		Music Themed Film, Biopic or Musical	Wicked	Nominated
Camerimage	November 23, 2024	Production Designer Award	Nathan Crowley	Won
Celebration of Black Cinema and Television	December 9, 2024	Actress Award – Film	Cynthia Erivo	Won
Santa Barbara International Film Festival	February 9, 2025	Virtuoso Award	Ariana Grande	Won

Sequel

Main article: Wicked Part Two

The direct sequel, Wicked Part Two, is scheduled to be released on November 21, 2025, after previously being scheduled for December 25, 2025, and November 26, 2025.

External links

• Official website
• Wicked at IMDb