{"id":397390,"date":"2025-11-22T17:45:15","date_gmt":"2025-11-22T17:45:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/397390\/"},"modified":"2025-11-22T17:45:15","modified_gmt":"2025-11-22T17:45:15","slug":"for-good-boosts-opening-day-for-biggest-of-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/397390\/","title":{"rendered":"For Good’ Boosts Opening Day for Biggest of 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\u201cWicked\u201d still knows about popular. Universal Pictures<\/a>\u2018 musical sequel \u201cFor Good\u201d swept up a spectacular $68.6 million across Friday and preview screenings from 4,115 locations in North America. That puts it on pace for a $151.5 million opening weekend through Sunday.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019d be the biggest bow ever for a Broadway adaptation and the second-biggest ever for a Universal release, only behind \u201cJurassic World.\u201d It\u2019s also well ahead of the $112 million haul that the first \u201cWicked\u201d debuted to in the same pre-Thanksgiving frame last year. If the Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande film hits its current projections, it\u2019ll rank among the biggest domestic openings of the year, currently led by \u201cA Minecraft Movie\u201d ($162 million) and the \u201cLilo & Stitch\u201d remake ($146 million).<\/p>\n

\n\tThough the $68.6 million opening day figure on \u201cFor Good\u201d technically ranks as the biggest of the year \u2014 ahead of \u201cA Minecraft Movie\u201d ($57.11 million) and \u201cSuperman\u201d ($56.5 million) \u2014 it comes with an asterisk. Universal lifted the curtain early on the second \u201cWicked,\u201d adding previews on Monday and Wednesday ahead of the standard Thursday evening kick-off. With early screenings for Amazon Prime members and fan-focused double features, \u201cWicked: For Good<\/a>\u201d had already earned $12.6 million before Thursday.<\/p>\n

\n\tEarly-week releases have become more common in recent years. Over the summer, \u201cSuperman\u201d held Tuesday screenings for Amazon Prime members ahead of its Thursday previews.<\/p>\n

\n\tRegardless, it\u2019s still a spectacular start for the PG-rated musical and a shot in the arm for North American theaters, which have been starved of a true blockbuster for several months now. The last film to open in the nine-digits was \u201cThe Fantastic Four: First Steps,\u201d all the way back in July. The biggest since was \u201cThe Conjuring: Last Rites\u201d ($84 million) in early September.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cFor Good\u201d has the benefit of getting almost all the Imax and other premium large-format theaters to itself, getting a boost from luxury ticket prices. CJ4DPLex noted that the pink-and-green musical earned $922,000 in 4DX auditoriums and $1 million in ScreenX auditoriums across previews and Friday, marking a 70% uptick from the formats\u2019 collective opening day on the first \u201cWicked.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe feature is expected to remain a high-demand release through the Thanksgiving holiday and into December. Reviews have generally been positive, though the reception has been cooler on \u201cFor Good\u201d than its predecessor\u2019s awards-heralding raves from last year. Early audiences seem as receptive this time around, with moviegoer pollster Cinema Score turning in an \u201cA\u201d grade, on par with the 2024 predecessor. Universal spent $300 million between both \u201cWicked\u201d features, not including massive marketing spends, but that investment has delivered not one but two event-status tentpoles.<\/p>\n

\n\tLionsgate\u2019s \u201cNow You See Me: Now You Don\u2019t\u201d is falling to second after opening atop the charts last weekend. The ensemble heist threequel earned another $2.6 million on Friday, with projections for a $9.4 million sophomore outing for a 55% drop from its debut. Domestic total should hit $37.1 million through its first 10 days. Overseas grosses have been the lion\u2019s share of ticket sales.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cPredator: Badlands\u201d looks to hold in third place, adding another $1.7 million on Friday for a 51% drop from its daily total a week ago. Now in its third weekend, Disney\u2019s sci-fi sequel is set to surpass a $76.5 million domestic total through Sunday \u2014 closing in on \u201cAlien vs. Predator\u201d ($80 million) to become the highest-grossing North American theatrical release of the franchise.<\/p>\n

\n\tParamount\u2019s \u201cThe Running Man\u201d is slipping to fourth, earning $1.66 million on Friday and projecting a sophomore outing of $6 million. That\u2019d be a significant 63% drop after an already underwhelming opening weekend for the $110 million production. Glen Powell and director Edgar Wright\u2019s dystopian action-thriller is slowing down fast, projected for a $27.2 million domestic cume through Sunday.<\/p>\n

\n\tFifth looks to go to \u201cRental Family<\/a>,\u201d a well-reviewed family drama starring Brendan Fraser as an actor abroad in Japan. The film, from Disney\u2019s specialty Searchlight Pictures banner, earned $1.2 million across Friday and previews from 1,925 locations. The hope is that awards buzz and great audience notices will keep the film relevant moving ahead. Cinema Score notched a strong \u201cA\u201d grade.<\/p>\n

\n\tBowing just outside the top five, Sony is putting out Stage 6 Films and Screen Gems\u2019 \u201cSisu: Road to Revenge\u201d in 2,222 venues. The bloody R-rated period piece earned about $1.2 million across Friday and previews, a smidge behind the $1.3 million opening day haul for the original \u201cSisu\u201d in 2023. That film wasn\u2019t much of a theatrical performer, finishing with $7.2 million domestic and $14.2 million worldwide, but it evidently drew enough of a cult reputation downstream to justify a sequel. Reviews have been positive for \u201cRoad to Revenge,\u201d while Cinema Score turned in a warm enough \u201cB\u201d grade.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cWicked\u201d still knows about popular. Universal Pictures\u2018 musical sequel \u201cFor Good\u201d swept up a spectacular $68.6 million across…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":397391,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[171,161319,113604,67,132,184,68,148123],"class_list":{"0":"post-397390","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-jon-m-chu","10":"tag-rental-family","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-universal-pictures","14":"tag-us","15":"tag-wicked-for-good"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115594600528002598","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=397390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/397390\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/397391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=397390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=397390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=397390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}