Universal’s “Wicked” has achieved impressive success both in theaters and now on digital platforms. The big-budget musical grossed $26 million on its first day and a total of $70 million in its first week of digital release across the United States and Canada.
Released on December 31, the film is available for purchase at $30 or for rent at $20, including both the original version and a sing-along edition. Universal revealed that “Wicked” had the highest first-day and first-week digital sales of any Universal film, surpassing the studio’s previous VOD release, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which earned $44 million in its opening week.
“While ‘Wicked’ continues to perform well, Universal expects even greater success ahead. The film will remain exclusive to home entertainment platforms for over two more months before it becomes available on Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service. Additionally, a follow-up film, “Wicked: For Good,” set to release in theaters next November, will explore the second act of the Broadway show.
Since its theatrical release on November 22, “Wicked: Part One” has grossed $682 million worldwide. This marks a significant achievement for the film, as studios often avoid publicly revealing figures from premium video-on-demand (PVOD) sales, instead relying on box office returns.
Hollywood has long recognized that theatrical releases are essential for a film’s cultural impact, which in turn boosts downstream revenues like PVOD. Universal, for instance, has been open about its belief that premium video-on-demand complements rather than replaces theater runs. Even with “Wicked” available digitally, the film earned an additional $10 million domestically in its eighth weekend at the box office.
Digital platforms offer studios higher profits, with companies typically retaining around 80% of online sales revenue compared to roughly 50% of box office ticket sales. For “Wicked,” Universal retained about 65% of the box office earnings, according to industry sources.
Universal has been a leader in experimenting with theatrical release windows, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped the industry. In March 2020, the studio broke tradition by releasing “Trolls World Tour” both in cinemas and on digital platforms. The move proved successful, with the film generating roughly $100 million in digital rentals, despite theaters being mostly closed. Since then, Universal has adopted a quicker transition from theaters to home entertainment, shortening the window of exclusivity to around 17 days for smaller films and five weekends for major releases. This strategy has brought in over $1.5 billion in PVOD sales.
Directed by Jon M. Chu, the PG-rated “Wicked” features an all-star cast, including Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, and Jonathan Bailey. The film tells the origin story of Elphaba (Erivo), the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda (Grande), the Good Witch, set before and during the events of “The Wizard of Oz.” It became the sixth-highest grossing movie of 2024 and the most successful Broadway adaptation in box office history.
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