Universal's Wicked recently surpassed Mamma Mia to hold the title of highest-grossing stage musical adaptation globally earning an impressive 634.4 million dollars. Wicked, directed by Jon M Chu, has brought in 424.2 million dollars domestically and another 210.2 million dollars from the international box office showcasing the widespread attraction. This successful musical starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande continues to break records both domestically and abroad proving a fan favorite within diverse populations.
Global Box Office Performance: 'Wicked' Achieves Record Numbers in Multiple International Markets
The film added another 13.7 million from 81 different international markets this weekend and the adaptation broke several records in 46 territories abroad making Wicked the number one stage musical adaptation. Prior to the overseas achievements Wicked achieved another major landmark for top domestic gross sales. The current offshore sales for Wicked exceeds Mamma Mia 2 Maleficent The Little Mermaid and The Greatest Showman also great international successes. The impressive box office data came after a brief holiday period that changed attendance in some territories like during Christmas time. Across international markets the movie increased by 1% and in the Europe Middle East and Africa region by a high margin of 7% which shows an extreme high popularity in several diverse countries.
Strong International Performances and Growing Market Influence: How 'Wicked' is Performing Globally
Wicked gained a strong following in the United Kingdom and Ireland by seeing a 2% growth compared to the previous week holding at a total of 67 million mirroring that of Wonka in past box office data. Wicked surpassed The Greatest Showman’s lifetime totals this past week along with beating out Despicable Me 4 in box office figures. This growth puts Wicked at the third highest-grossing title of 2024 within the United Kingdom and Ireland. Australia grew 29% in the sixth week beating lifetime totals set by both Aladdin plus the recent two Jurassic World movie s positioning it as fifth highest film within the entire Australian movie market. The Netherlands saw a very significant 32% jump over the holidays. Currently the top five gross markets are the UK 67 million dollars Australia 24.8 million dollars Korea 14.2 million dollars Germany 11.8 million dollars and lastly Mexico with 9.9 million dollars of revenue showcasing a wide variety of fans around the globe. Wicked is set for release in Japan March 7th.
Official Milestone Achieved: Wicked Overtakes Mamma Mia as Top Global Broadway Musical Adaptation
Wicked has exceeded 2008’s Mamma Mia for top global box office earnings officially becoming the highest-grossing Broadway adaptation in history. Wicked starring both Ariana Grande plus Cynthia Erivo holds approximately 634 million dollars after only six weeks after release with 424 million dollars being domestically earned beating the overall global amount from Mamma Mia 611 million dollars from 2008. Wicked also passed 1978’s Grease to have the top Broadway domestic revenue which is a sign for musical remakes done very well. This success is noteworthy since recent stage remakes like Color Purple West Side Story Dear Evan Hansen In the Heights have had lukewarm reception. The success of the current Wicked film helps promote the 2025 sequel "Wicked: For Good" increasing viewership and box office earning.
'Sonic the Hedgehog 3' and Other Titles Vie for Global Box Office Success Amidst Wicked's Milestone
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 earned 74 million in international debut establishing a franchise record. This Sonic the Hedgehog debut overseas was the largest opening the series ever has seen. This was slightly influenced by additional pre screenings being accounted in numbers. However even the 3 day totals were far greater than Sonic the Hedgehog 2 which debuted with 33 million dollars in international earnings. Sonic 3 broke many records also having top openings in the United Kingdom at 15.1 million Mexico with 10.3 million and France with 7.3 million dollars. The Sonic movie series will also have additional international openings in countries like Korea Brazil and Italy during the following weekend and has done incredibly well with domestic 137 million totals.
Nosferatu added three million from its first five market releases. Robert Eggers is director starring Bill Skarsgård playing the villain Count Orlok adding another horror based product into this lineup while showcasing the breadth of Universal’s distribution capabilities. Universal has domestic distribution while Focus Features will lead distribution for Universal’s project overseas. Nosferatu has already reached 21.1 million domestically. Mufasa also remained atop international box offices taking in 77.1 million across multiple territories. The Lion King prequel saw significant sales that totaled at 214 million internationally and a total of 328 million gross revenue demonstrating consistent global viewership. Moana 2 pulled in 36 million internationally over the week creating 487.8 million dollars overall. The animated Polynesian film has taken in a total of 882 million globally closing in on the 900 million revenue goal. The Moana 2 success is joining successes with films such as Inside Out 2 and Deadpool and Wolverine which reached billion dollar earnings all released under Disney this past year.