By Lisa Richwine and Dawn Chmielewski
(Reuters) -The musical adaptation "Wicked" and action epic "Gladiator II" racked up a combined $270.2 million in global ticket sales over the weekend, a gift to cinemas heading into what may be a record-setting holiday season.
The robust box office returns provided reassurance to Hollywood, which has weathered cost-cutting and layoffs amid forecasts of the death of cinema as consumers gravitated to streaming video services.
"Moviegoers and box office pundits have been waiting for this weekend, and no one is disappointed," said Chris Aronson, president of distribution for Paramount Pictures.
"Wicked," the first of two Universal Pictures films based on a Broadway prequel to "The Wizard of Oz," topped the domestic and global box office. It pulled in $114 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters, plus $50.2 million in international markets, for a global total of $164.2 million.
It was the biggest opening weekend for a film based on a Broadway musical, ahead of the global debut of Universal's 2012 release "Les Miserables," according to the studio.
"Gladiator II" hauled in $106 million around the world, including $55.5 million from domestic sales. The Paramount Pictures film is the sequel to a movie that won the best picture Oscar two decades ago. The film, which was released last weekend outside the U.S., had an overall box office tally of $221 million.
The two films, dubbed "Glicked" by fans, brought in $169.5 million at domestic theaters, helping lift the weekend box office to $201.9 million. It's the highest-grossing weekend in North America since the July opening of "Deadpool & Wolverine," according to Comscore.
"Glicked" fell short of the $245 million "Barbie" and "Oppenheimer" opening frenzy in July 2023, which showed that the industry was rebounding from the pandemic and strikes that year by writers and actors.
Still, the two films delivered a much-needed jolt to movie theaters, after anticipated fall films such as "Joker: Folie a Deux" and "Venom: The Last Dance" underperformed at the box office.
The fervor was a positive sign for theater chains such as AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC), Cineplex and Cinemark that are looking ahead to another major release, Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)'s animated "Moana 2" this week.
"This is a tremendous catalyst for a strong box office going into December and the New Year," said National Association of Theatre Owners President and CEO Michael O’Leary.
Movie ticket sales in the U.S. and Canada have hovered below pre-pandemic levels as cinemas grapple with competition from streaming and the disruptions from the last year's Hollywood strikes.
Sunday's tallies brought year-to-date domestic ticket sales to $7.3 billion, down 10.6% from the same time in 2023, according to Comscore.
Studios and theater owners are hopeful that "Moana 2" will lead next weekend to the strongest Thanksgiving-period sales in history.
Box office analysts say ticket sales from Thanksgiving through the end of the year could rank as the biggest in cinema history. The holiday season record of $2.5 billion was set in 2017, led by the "Star Wars" film "The Last Jedi."
"This is the best possible news for movie theaters, this lineup of films, starting with 'Glicked' and 'Moana 2," said Paul Dergarabedian, media analyst for Comscore.
"Wicked" stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in the story of a misunderstood, green-skinned student of magic who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West.
"It's wrapped in a fairy tale, but the point of it is to dig at real truth," director Jon M. Chu told Reuters at the film's premiere in London, when asked about the story's broad appeal.
Universal, a unit of Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA), spent roughly $160 million to make the first "Wicked" movie, a sum that does not include tens of millions more for marketing ranging from a Super Bowl ad to hundreds of "Wicked" products.
In a campaign reminiscent of the hoopla surrounding "Barbie," "Wicked" tie-ins include pink and green drinks at Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX), a fashion line at Target (NYSE:TGT) and a Betty Crocker cupcake mix.
"This campaign was just everywhere. It was just inescapable," said Jim Orr, Universal Pictures' president of domestic theatrical distribution. "And on top of all of that, we had the hardest-working cast that you could have. From a publicity and from a marketing standpoint, Cynthia and Ariana were literally just everywhere."
The second "Wicked" film is scheduled for release in November 2025.
"Gladiator II" stars Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington in a story of political intrigue that unfolds 16 years after the original film.
Other films coming before year-end include Walt Disney's "Mufasa: The Lion King," Paramount's "Sonic the Hedgehog 3" and Searchlight Pictures' "A Complete Unknown," starring Timothee Chalamet as musician Bob Dylan.