Glicked: Can Wicked and Gladiator II pull a Barbenheimer at the box office?

In 2023, Barbie and Oppenheimer combined forces to create the pop culture phenomenon known as “Barbenheimer.” In 2024, Wicked and Gladiator II will try to emulate that success with “Glicked.”

This weekend, Wicked and Gladiator II are squaring off at the box office in what should be one of the biggest weekends of the year for theaters. Both films started on the right track thanks to early previews and Thursday night screenings. Per Deadline, Wicked pulled in about $11 million on Thursday night alone, while Gladiator did about $6.5 million.

However, Wicked also had the advantage of Amazon promotion previews earlier this week and Thursday premium format showings. Add those numbers to Thursday’s total, and Wicked is looking at a $19.2 million haul for this week’s previews.

Wicked’s domestic opening weekend will be higher than that of Gladiator II. Early tracking pegged Wicked at around $110 million. With the $19.2 million in previews, Deadline believes Wicked could now open north of $120 million. That would be the highest opening for a movie based on a Broadway musical.

Directed by Jon M. Chu, Wicked is the untold story of the witches of Oz. Cynthia Erivo stars as Elphaba, a green-skinned woman who will ultimately turn into the Wicked Witch of the West. Ariana Grande plays Glinda, the popular witch who will become Glinda the Good. Wicked is the first part of a two-part feature film adaptation, with the second movie opening on November 21, 2025.

Gladiator II is the long-awaited sequel to Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, the Oscar-winning epic about one warrior’s quest for revenge. Paul Mescal stars as Lucius, the former heir to the throne who trains to be a gladiator to exact his revenge on the Roman Empire. Gladiator II’s opening weekend projection is between $59 million and $66 million. However, that could increase with strong word of mouth and walk-up business.

While Glicked will put up an impressive opening weekend, it’s nowhere near what Barbenheimer did in 2023. Barbie and Oppenheimer shattered box office projections with opening weekends of $162 million and $82.4 million, respectively.