Wicked enchants the box office with the third biggest opening of the year.
Wicked delivered $10.2 million at the Australian box office across its Wednesday to Sunday opening weekend.
The film secured 489,000 admissions, with a 65% female skew, and reached a broad audience across all demographics.
AAMI, Telstra, NAB, Carnival Cruise Line, and fashion brand Camilla, are all on-screen sponsors of Wicked.
There was simply no place like the box office last weekend, as Wicked, one of the year’s biggest blockbuster releases, flew into cinemas on Wednesday, captivating audiences worldwide and earning an impressive $164 million at the global box office.
In Australia, the film earned $10.2 million* over its Wednesday to Sunday opening weekend (including preview screenings), claiming the title of the third biggest opening weekend of a film this year, behind Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2.
The film delivered 489,000 admissions and as expected, demonstrated a strong female skew of 65%. It also performed strongly across demographics, including P18-39 and P25-54, confirming its broad, multigenerational appeal.
This exceptional result also contributed to a +34% increase in total weekend admissions compared to a strong weekend last week, following the release of Gladiator II.
“The global hype surrounding Wicked is absolutely palpable, and evident in the response of its opening weekend results,” said Guy Burbidge, Managing Director of Val Morgan Cinema. "It’s one of the most beloved and widely seen musicals in the world, and through the strong word of mouth backed by the 97% Rotten Tomatoes score and A CinemaScore, we’re expecting audiences to continue turning up in droves across the summer holidays to experience what is one of the must-see cultural moments of the year.”
AAMI, Telstra and NAB are all national on-screen partners across the film.
Other sponsors include luxury fashion brand Camilla, who has launched a Wicked capsule collection, and Carnival Cruise Line.
"We knew Wicked would be another major force across Q4 as a result of its passionate fanbase, broad multigenerational appeal and the incredible scale of the production itself.
“Aligning with major cultural moments like this, especially at such a crucial time of year, is essential to any brand’s Christmas strategy as cinema remains one of the most powerful ways for brands to engage, especially with hard-to-reach audiences.
“We’re thrilled to have these brands on board for what will be an exceptional summer run of Wicked,” added Burbidge.
Alongside Gladiator II which released last week, Wicked has helped to kickstart the biggest summer of cinema which is only set to get bigger within the coming weeks, with Moana 2, Mufasa: The Lion King, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 all releasing by Boxing Day.
Q1 is set to explode with other big titles like Paddington in Peru, We Live in Time, Captain America: Brave New World, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, Sinners and the live-action adaptation Snow White all releasing between January to March.
*Source: CineTAM 2024