Wicked’s Lukewarm Rotten Tomatoes Score Could Derail Its 2026 Oscar Dreams
Wicked: For Good wobbles out of the gate with a 74% Tomatometer, a sharp drop from the original’s high-80s acclaim, though the score could shift as more reviews roll in and the debate over what those numbers really mean kicks off.
Early reads on Wicked: For Good are a little messy: critics are cooler on it than they were on the first film, but audiences (and the box office) look fired up. Here’s where things actually stand, minus the noise.
The score drop, and why that matters
The sequel opened on Rotten Tomatoes with a 74% Tomatometer. That can shift as more reviews roll in, but it’s a noticeable step down from the original, which launched to raves and still sits in the high 80s. Translation: awards momentum gets harder when your sequel isn’t the critical darling its predecessor was.
- Wicked (2024): Rotten Tomatoes 88% critics / 95% audience, IMDb 7.4
- Wicked: For Good (2025): Rotten Tomatoes 74% critics / 97% audience, IMDb 7.9
There’s also a nerdy structural wrinkle: the musical’s second act (the part this sequel is covering) is widely viewed as the weaker half. Pair that with the fact that sequels usually struggle at the Oscars and 2025’s awards field is already crowded, and it’s hard to see For Good leading the pack like the first movie did.
On the money side: huge presales and a bigger-than-expected opening
The first film was a full-on smash: 10 Academy Award nominations and $758.7 million worldwide, per Box Office Mojo. It also debuted to $112.5 million, which set a new opening-weekend high for a Broadway musical adaptation.
The sequel is tracking to follow the cash trail. Per Deadline, Fandango says For Good is its best-selling PG-rated title ever in advance tickets. It was initially projected to open at $112–115 million domestic, but the chatter now is that the debut will land higher, which would put it ahead of the first film’s record-setting start. Add in that 97% audience score and, even with competition like Zootopia 2 arriving later this month, it’s positioned to have legs similar to the original.
About that Wicked 3 talk
Yes, people are already asking about a third movie. Ariana Grande, during a YouTube Q&A, gave the cheeky answer fans wanted:
"If we’ve learned anything from Cher, we can count on there always being another farewell tour."
Bowen Yang, on the other hand, told Variety he thinks the story should end here. Director Jon M. Chu isn’t shutting the door entirely, saying there are ideas floating around but he’d rather everyone enjoy this chapter before making promises. The official line for now: the musical’s story wraps with this film, anything beyond that is a wait-and-see.
Bottom line: critics are lukewarm, audiences are into it, and the box office looks big. Awards heat may cool compared to last time, but the sequel’s commercial prospects are very much alive. Wicked: For Good opens November 21, 2025.