After the success of 2024’s Wicked, which led to no less than 10 Academy Awards nominations, the second part of the film was one of the most anticipated films of the year. As Wicked: For Good will soon hit theaters, the reviews are already out.
Jon M. Chu embarked on the ambitious project to adapt one of the most popular Broadway musicals of all time, and, along the way, decided to split the story into two films. The first one premiered in November 2024, and the second, initially titled Wicked: Part Two, was set to follow one year later. Ahead of the film’s release on Nov. 21, Wicked: For Good failed to be “Popular” with the critics, but it divided the camps as the audiences gave it a near-perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes.
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2024’s Wicked set a high precedent. It was the highest-grossing original film of the year, which wasn’t part of a franchise, and was a massive success for Universal Pictures. Ahead of its release on Nov. 22, 2024, Wicked debuted with a near-perfect score from the audience, 99% on the Popcornmeter, and a high 92% approval from the critics.
Unfortunately, the almost perfect scores failed to follow Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, and Jonathan Bailey for the second part. As the embargo lifted, Wicked: For Good features a 74% approval score, just under the 75% threshold for a Certified Fresh badge, out of 87 reviews. However, it does feature a 97% approval score out of more than 2,500 reviews on the Popcornmeter.
Among the positive reviews, The Hollywood Reporter‘s David Rooney praised Ariana Grande as Glinda, noting she “floods it with so much feeling that it humanizes and enriches the character and, by extension, the whole movie.” The review admits, “all but one of the show’s most memorable songs are in the first act, but the investment in character, story and sumptuous design more than compensates in Wicked: For Good.”
ScreenRant‘s Alex Harrison noted, “If you enjoyed what Wicked did with the material, For Good is exactly what you were hoping for. All the exhilaration that’s been hanging in the back of your mind comes rushing back the moment the first musical number starts.”
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CBR‘s own Caralynn Matassa gave For Good a positive review, who notes that the second part is “a faster-paced conclusion than its predecessor, ramping up the drama and the stakes as the story barrels towards the inevitable conclusion that devotees of the musical and casual fans alike already know all too well,” praising the performances from the lead actors, but denouncing the chemistry between Erivo and Bailey, and the musical numbers.
Among the criticism, AwardsWatch’s Sophia Ciminello argues, “Despite stellar work from Erivo and Grande, Wicked: For Good can’t justify its existence as its own separate outing.” Awards Radar’s Joey Magidson shares a similar opinion, noting the story “can’t justify its two-part split and bloated running time.” Blu-ray.com’s Brian Ordorf shares the same opinion, arguing, “It’s difficult to watch For Good and not think that all of this really should’ve been contained to a single epic film.”
Audiences Couldn’t Get Enough of Wicked: For Good
Image via Universal Pictures
Although critics praised the film’s spectacle and denounced the need to split it into a second part, the fans disagree. Since the movie isn’t out in theaters yet, only dedicated fans were able to catch an early screening, and they were thrilled.
Many called the second part a “masterpiece.” One review writes, “It was exactly what my expectations were probably even above what I expected. If you loved the Broadway musical it is [an] absolute masterpiece.” A different wrote, “Wicked: For Good is a masterpiece at its craft. Theirs only [one] scene that I found just typical from the musical. But everything else was top notch.”
It’s also expected to be a major hit at the box office. Fandango already reported the second chapter is the best PG-rated ticket pre-seller of all time, per Deadline, defeating 2017’s Beauty and the Beast, and 2019’s Frozen 2. It’s predicted to open around $110 million domestically.
Wicked: For Good premieres in theaters on Nov. 21.
- Release Date
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November 21, 2025
- Runtime
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137 Minutes
- Writers
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Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox, Gregory Maguire
- Producers
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Marc Platt, David Stone
