In the summer of 2023, it felt like the whole world was going to see the Barbie x Oppenheimer crossover dubbed ‘Barbenheimer’. With online debates on which film was best to see first. As it’s no secret they are very different films. However, in similar trending status, but not quite matching the height of Barbenheimer’s success sees a double-bill of ‘Glicked’ combining Ridley Scott’s ‘Gladiator II‘ with Jon M. Chu’s ‘Wicked.’
The two Hollywood films are this Thanksgiving weekend’s biggest box-office draws. Undoubtedly, both stem from two major production companies with Paramount Pictures helming Gladiator II and Universal Studios’ Wicked.
Wicked & It’s Leading Witches
Wicked has seen immense success over the years from it’s original novel by Gregory Maguire in 1995 to its stage production, premiering on Broadway in October 2003. The two leads, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo are both successful singer-actresses. Ariana Grande first started acting in Nickelodeon’s Victorious from 2010 to 2013, playing the beloved Cat Valentine for four seasons. Significantly, Ariana has since won two Grammy awards and sold more than 90 million records globally.
Cynthia Erivo’s early career started on Broadway starring in hit musical, The Color Purple for which she won a Tony award for Best Lead Actress in 2016. She’s since been Academy nominated for Best Actress and Best Original Song for Harriet in 2020 for which she also performed the song on the Oscars stage.
Wicked broke three box-office records during its opening weekend on 22nd November 2024. The hit musical film saw the biggest opening weekend for a film originating on Broadway. Nevertheless, massing over $164 million, Wicked triumphed over musical movie hits including ‘Les Misérables‘ and ‘Into the Woods.’ Although, this weekend marked Wicked‘s position in third place behind ‘Deadpool vs. Wolverine‘ and ‘Inside Out 2‘ for the highest grossing films of 2024.
Gladiator II & It’s Epic Stars
Released on the same date – 22nd November 2024, Gladiator II has currently made $106 million at the box office. However, this year marks twenty four years since the original Russell Crowe Sword-And-Sandals epic swept the big screen.
But Ridley Scott’s sequel comes in strong with its story, characters and all-star cast. Featuring Hollywood legend, Denzel Washington and relatively new Hollywood stars, Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal and Joseph Quinn. Also returning to Rome is Connie Nielson’s Lucilla.
Gladiator II sees the second collaboration between it’s star, Denzel Washington and award-winning director, Ridley Scott. Previously having worked together on American Gangster in 2007. Chilean-American actor, Pedro Pascal has seen recent box-office success with the ground-breaking children’s animation, The Wild Robot. Receiving a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes and an 85% Metacritic review, the film went on to gross $318.1 million on a $78 million budget. However, Pascal is perhaps most well-known from video game to TV series adaptation, The Last of Us, saw him win a Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance as Joel Miller in 2023.
The Gladiator sequels leading star, Paul Mescal has won a TV BAFTA in 2021 for his role as Connell Waldron in the BBC Drama series, Normal People starring alongside Daisy Edgar Jones. As well as earning a Best Actor Olivier Award, which Mescal gained for his portrayal as Stanley Kowalski in the Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire. Gladiator II sees Mescal ditch his signature Irish accent for a British twang. As he prepares to suit up his armour for battles against man and animal inside the Colosseum.
Box-Office Competition
The release of Moana 2 on 29th November 2024 could see the brave Disney Princess compete in box-office numbers this Thanksgiving. It’s predicted to make anywhere between $135m to $145m this weekend alone. However, the second-highest grossing animation, Frozen II may be in danger with the upcoming release of Moana 2. Whatever happens, the box-office will see fierce competition this Thanksgiving.
Want to read more about Hollywood? Check out this blog post analysing Hollywood’s ‘Makeover Scenes’ in Romantic Comedies here. We’ll be reviewing both Wicked and Gladiator II on the Filmotomy blog soon so look out for those film reviews!
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