The Wicked movies are going to be remarkably long. An adaptation of the original Broadway play, the movies are designed to change the public perception of the Wicked Witch from The Wizard of Oz (1939), with a starring cast of Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, and more. While the Wicked movie will take extreme inspiration from the musical, there will be new elements added to expand its runtime.
According to the details originally released by Fandango, the first Wicked movie is two hours and 40 minutes long. The Broadway musical, by comparison, runs for two hours and 45 minutes. The follow-up will likely lead to the on-screen adaptation doubling the original musical’s runtime.
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Syfy’s Tin Man (2007) is the perfect mini-series to watch after seeing Wicked Part I. Tin Man is an underrated retelling of The Wizard of Oz.
What The Runtime Means For Wicked
There Is New Content Added
Wicked has an exceptional runtime, and unlike the musical, there will not be an intermission. With the original having a wide array of songs and a fully developed story, the added material is a combination of extended scenes and entirely new content. For instance, it has been confirmed that Dorothy will join Wicked‘s cast, even though she did not appear in the original Broadway play. The trailers showcased her presence and hinted at an entirely new story in addition to the original beloved musical, which will likely be visited in the second part of the story.
There will also be new songs in addition to all the original performances. Those songs are expected to come in Wicked: Part 2, though musical sequences were expanded in the first movie, if only to capture attention during the upcoming award season. The movies will be released one year apart, so the new songs can capitalize on two different seasons to win Best Original Song. Aside from those additional songs, new subplots will likely flesh out The Wizard of Oz‘s characters. The added material means a fresh story for both musical viewers and entirely new audiences.
Our Take On The Wicked Runtime
The Long Length Could Be Too Much Of A Good Thing
Wicked’s best-known songs and story beats all occur in Act I of the musical…
An expansion of story details is not seen as a bad thing, especially by fans of the Broadway musical or the original novel that inspired it, or even of The Wizard of Oz. A longer runtime means that characters who might not have been fully fleshed out on the stage can get more screen time, and that musical sequences can become more intricate and dazzling to watch, like Fiyero’s “Dancing Through Life” with moving set pieces. There is a chance, however, that it could be too much of a good thing in the end.
After all, Wicked’s best-known songs and story beats all occur in Act I of the musical, which all played out in the first part of the two movies. Fleshing out the second part of the story the same way may make the story just a little too long for some fans, making the first movie much more successful than the second.
Of course, audiences might surprise box office analysts with their commitment to seeing both parts of the movie as many analysts anticipated that opening against Moana 2 and Gladiator II would hurt Wicked initially, but that turned out not to be true.
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Wicked Makes One Song Better Than The Broadway Musical Thanks To A Big Change
One of Wicked’s more effective changes in adapting the Broadway musical for the big screen adds a secondary purpose to one important song.
The Wicked Runtime Hasn’t Hurt Its Box Office
Wicked Is The Second-Highest Grossing Broadway Musical Adaptation
…it has gone on to earn more than $477 million worldwide as of December 14, 2024.
Though there is often concern that longer movies will turn off movie-goers, that has not been true for Wicked. With the increase in the use of streaming, movie-goers often weigh whether they want to pay the price of a movie ticket and theater snacks or simply wait for a movie to become available on a digital platform they already use. The idea of being able to watch a movie in the comfort of home appeals to a lot of people, but seeing Wicked on the big screen and fully immersing oneself in the movie seems to be winning out.
That might have been expected by long-time fans. Wicked continues to be one of the longest-running and top-selling Broadway shows of all time. It has broken its own record for ticket sales at the Gershwin theater more than 20 times during its time there (via Broadway World). It was also the first Broadway musical to gross more than $3 million in one week (via Playbill). With an appetite for it on Broadway, which is not so easily accessible as a movie theater, breaking sales records, it is not so surprising that the movie is seeing big financial success.
Wicked’s debut weekend at the box office earned more than $162 million, beating the previous biggest-selling opening weekend for a musical adaptation by a landslide (via Deadline). The record had been held by Les Misérables when it released in 2012 with a $103 million worldwide opening. Since then, it has gone on to earn more than $477 million worldwide as of December 14, 2024 (via Box Office Mojo).
Those big box office numbers mark some impressive milestones for Wicked. It’s the biggest earner of a stage-to-screen musical adaptation since Grease in 1978. Grease held the record for over 40 years. It is also currently the second-highest-grossing adaptation of a Broadway musical, trailing behind Mamma Mia by less than $150 million when the latter was released in 2008. Wicked, however, is also still in theaters at the time of this writing, making it entirely possible that Wicked could surpass Mamma Mia before it leaves theaters for good.
Source: Fandango, Broadway World, Playbill, Deadline, Box Office Mojo
Wicked adapts the Broadway musical into a two-part film, following the unlikely friendship between Elphaba, born with green skin, and Glinda, a popular aristocrat, in the Land of Oz. As they navigate their contrasting paths, they evolve into Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
- Director
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Jon M. Chu
- Release Date
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November 22, 2024
- Writers
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Gregory Maguire
, Winnie Holzman
, Dana Fox
, L. Frank Baum - Cast
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Cynthia Erivo
, Ariana Grande
, Michelle Yeoh
, Jeff Goldblum
, Jonathan Bailey
, Ethan Slater
, Marissa Bode
, Bowen Yang
, Bronwyn James
, Keala Settle
, Peter Dinklage
, Aaron Teoh
, Grecia De la Paz
, Colin Michael Carmichael
, Adam James
, Andy Nyman
, Courtney Mae-Briggs
, Sharon D. Clarke
, Jenna Boyd - Runtime
-
160 Minutes
