Wicked Casts a Spell on the Weekend Box Office; Running Man Tumbles 65%

Here we go: Wicked: For Good just did exactly what everyone expected it to do at the box office. Not a record-breaker, but a clean, confident flex.

Wicked comes in hot

The sequel bowed with a sturdy $150 million weekend. That is the year’s second-best debut, slotted between A Minecraft Movie (still No. 1) and just ahead of Lilo & Stitch. With Thanksgiving days away and a long runway into Christmas, this one is set up to play and play.

Critics have been cooler on For Good than they were on the first film, but audiences are all-in. It scored the coveted A CinemaScore, which is code for repeat business and strong legs. And the first Wicked had ridiculous staying power: when it hit VOD on New Year’s Day last year, it was still a top-five title in theaters and then hung around for weeks. Put it together and For Good has a very real shot at finishing as the year’s top domestic grosser — unless Zootopia 2 or Avatar: Fire and Ash swipe the crown late.

The rest of the field: weekend snapshot

• Wicked: For Good — $150M opening. Year’s No. 2 debut behind A Minecraft Movie, just ahead of Lilo & Stitch. A CinemaScore and holiday-friendly legs point to a big domestic finish.
• Now You See Me: Now You Don’t — Down a steep 57% to $9.12M domestic. Different story overseas: another $32.6M weekend, $146.2M international to date, and it even opened ahead of Wicked: For Good in some markets. A $300M-ish overseas finish is on the table.
• Disney’s Predator: Badlands — $6.25M weekend, $76.28M domestic to date. On track to finish around $90M, which would make it the highest-grossing Predator entry unadjusted. Adjust for inflation and the original (and even Alien vs. Predator) still tower over it.
• Edgar Wright’s The Running Man — Brutal second weekend, off 65% to $5.8M, for $27M domestic total. That is disaster territory. Whatever the issue — the pitch, the vibe, maybe the ending? — it is not connecting. Are some movies just too embedded in pop culture to remake?
• Rental Family — Brendan Fraser’s indie lands in fifth with $3.3M. Another adult-leaning awards hopeful starting soft.
• Sisu: Road to Revenge — $2.6M, not far off the original’s $3.2M opening. Could pick up some guys-night-out business over Thanksgiving while the rest of the family heads back to Wicked.
• Regretting You — Easing toward the exit with $1.52M; strong $47M domestic total overall.
• Nuremberg — $1.234M weekend, $11M domestic. Not flashy, but outperforming most other adult-skewing awards plays right now.
• The Black Phone 2 — Wraps up with $1M for $76M total. Blumhouse’s biggest win in a while.
• Sarah’s Oil — $771K weekend nudges it past $1M domestic.

Big picture and what is next

Exhibitors badly needed this. October into early November was rough, and the market felt thin. Thanksgiving should be a reset: Wicked: For Good gets the holiday surge, and Zootopia 2 is positioned to do real damage right alongside it. Buckle up for a busy week at the multiplex.