Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s "Wicked" is dominating Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington’s “Gladiator II” this weekend at the domestic box office.

The musical fantasy, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo as witches Galinda and Elphaba, is based on the Broadway musical “Wicked,” which was loosely adapted from the novel “Wicked, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister.” It purports to tell the “real” story of what happened in Oz before Dorothy arrived.

Wicked” is pocketing lots of green, with the Universal release coming in on the upper side of projections to head toward the third-biggest domestic opening of the year. Now forecasting a $117 million sum for the weekend,

As most have by now picked up, two disparate, big-budget films are sharing a release date: One, an R-rated historical epic stacked with a starry cast of Oscar hopefuls. The other, a musical based on a beloved property with plenty of

Glicked weekend is currently looking like a $120M opening for Universal’s Wicked after a $48.5M Friday plus previews, while Gladiator II is shaping up to a $23.5M Friday/previews turning into a $61M opening weekend.

The Wicked box office predictions are in, and early returns for the movie point to a massive success for the musical adaptation starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. What are the Wicked box office numbers?

Wicked” and “Gladiator II” both drew less in Thursday previews than their “Barbenheimer” counterparts, but are still expected to help the fall box office.