Wicked Stumbles: Rotten Tomatoes Score and Early Reviews Leave Fans Disappointed

Wicked: For Good is about to land, and the early read from critics is... not as glowing as the first movie. Still positive, just not the same love-fest. If you care more about audiences than critics, though, the people seem ecstatic again.

The scorecard

On Rotten Tomatoes, Wicked: For Good is currently sitting at 74% on the Tomatometer. That keeps it in Fresh territory, but it is a noticeable step down from 2024's Wicked, which debuted at 88% with a huge 95% audience score. The sequel does have one big brag: its audience score is an even higher 97% right now. Translation: critics are cooler on Part 2, audiences are over the moon again.

What the reviews are actually saying

Reactions are mixed, and the split is pretty clear:

Slant Magazine's Dan Rubins was not impressed, arguing the sequel feels overextended and frantic without landing the emotions.

IndieWire's Kate Erbland lands somewhere in the middle: the stuff that didn’t work last time still doesn’t, and the things that did work still deliver.

William Bibbiani at TheWrap called it the most disappointing 'Part Two' since 'the second half of Andy Muschietti's It.' He added: 'At least nobody projectile vomits on Jeff Goldblum to the tune of Juice Newton's Angel of the Morning.'

Yes, that is a real line from a review. On the flip side, The Hollywood Reporter’s David Rooney came away positive, singling out Ariana Grande for pouring so much feeling into her role that it opens up the character and lifts the whole movie.

Release date and who is in it

Wicked: For Good opens November 21, 2025. The cast is stacked:

• Ariana Grande
• Cynthia Erivo
• Jonathan Bailey
• Jeff Goldblum
• Marissa Bode
• Ethan Slater
• Michelle Yeoh
• Sharon D. Clarke
• Bowen Yang
• Bronwyn James
• Colman Domingo

Bottom line: if you were hoping for a repeat of the first film's critic-high, not quite. If you just want to sing along and feel feelings, audiences say the sequel delivers that in spades.