Universal's 'Wicked' and Paramount's 'Gladiator II' are set to dominate the box office with a combined $200 million in ticket sales over the weekend. 'Wicked,' based on the popular Broadway musical, has already earned $19.2 million from previews and is projected to break records for a Broadway adaptation's opening. 'Gladiator II' follows with strong preview earnings and positive reviews. This 'Glicked' phenomenon is reminiscent of the 'Barbenheimer' cultural buzz, promising long-term success through the holiday season.
Paramount's "Mean Girls" musical and Amazon MGM's "The Beekeeper" are in a close box office battle for first place, with final numbers to be determined on Monday. The box office is currently experiencing a lull, with no major studio releases for the second weekend in a row. "Mean Girls" has proven to be financially successful, while "The Beekeeper" has also performed well. Other films, such as "Wonka," "Migration," and "Anyone But You," continue to maintain their positions in the top five, while Oscar nominations have given a slight boost to films like "Poor Things," "American Fiction," and "The Zone of Interest."
Studios have been downplaying and disguising their movie musicals, such as "Mean Girls," "Wonka," and "The Color Purple," in their marketing campaigns, despite the fact that these films are irrefutably musicals. The trailers for "Mean Girls" did not prominently feature the singing and dancing aspects of the film, instead opting for a more generic and edgier look, leading to questions about why studios are spending much of their marketing budget on downplaying the musical elements of these adaptations.
The trend of turning movies into musicals and then back into movie musicals is on the rise, with recent releases of The Color Purple and Mean Girls following this pattern. The Color Purple's movie musical takes a grand, colorful approach, while Mean Girls' adaptation benefits from the freedom of the screen to enhance its comedic and musical elements. However, the process of transferring material between mediums can be challenging, and the proliferation of movie musicals based on stage adaptations of films raises questions about the originality and necessity of these projects.
Studios are hesitant to market movie musicals explicitly as such, fearing that the term "musical" may turn off audiences. The success of films like Frozen, which became known for its songs after release, has led studios to downplay the musical elements in marketing campaigns. Despite recent disappointments like West Side Story and In the Heights, Hollywood remains committed to the genre, with upcoming projects like The Color Purple and the two-part Wicked movie.
Jodi Benson, the original voice of Ariel in Disney's 1989 animated film, supports the changes made to the story in the upcoming live-action/CG remake of The Little Mermaid, including updated lyrics and a more modern portrayal of the Disney princess. Benson also praises Halle Bailey's performance as the new Ariel and credits the original film with kickstarting a fresh movement of movie musicals. The new version of The Little Mermaid, directed by Rob Marshall and starring Bailey and Jonah Hauer-King, premieres this Friday.
The first official clip of Ariana Grande performing as Glinda in the upcoming movie musical adaptation of Wicked has sparked debate about whether she is lip-synching to her own track or a recording of Broadway's original Glinda, Kristen Chenoweth. Lip-synching is standard practice for movie musicals, but the video's YouTube comments reflect some disagreement. However, the film is still over a year away, and there is no indication that Grande won't sing her parts. Director John M. Chu has promised more teasers to come.
