Wicked and Gladiator II Set to Light Up Box Office This Weekend

Get ready for a colorful weekend at the movies! "Wicked" from Universal and "Gladiator II" from Paramount are about to make a big splash, with both films expected to rake in over $200 million together. Shawn Robbins, an expert from Fandango, sees this as a much-needed boost for the box office, especially as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches. Already, "Wicked" has been making waves. It's brought in $19. 2 million from early screenings in the U. S. , with Amazon Prime members contributing $2. 5 million on Monday and $5. 7 million more from theaters on Wednesday. By Thursday night previews, it had collected another $11 million from around 3, 300 theaters. Initially, predictions for "Wicked" were around $80 million, but they've since jumped to between $120 million and $140 million for its opening weekend. Some even think it could go higher! Movie musicals have been a bit tricky for Hollywood lately, but with "Wicked" based on a super popular Broadway show, it's anyone's guess how big it will be. As of now, "Wicked" has a 92% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes from over 160 critics. Its "Popcornmeter" score, which shows how much people enjoyed the film, is at 99% with more than 2, 500 ratings. That's pretty impressive!