The release of Gladiator 2 and Wicked was predicted to have the same impact as last year’s Barbenheimer phenomenon, but experts are now saying that may not be the case.
READ MORE: ‘Wicked’ review: hit musical makes gravity-defying leap to the big screen
Dubbed the Glicked effect, both movies are expected to take the box office by storm over the weekend after being released in the US on Friday (November 22), similar to Barbie and Oppenheimer last year.
Jon M. Chu’s Wicked has also been slated by cinema bosses to be the biggest film of the year, and earlier this month, Deadline predicted that the musical adaptation and Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2 are set to pull in huge takings on their openings with the former expected to pull in over $80million (£62.8million) and the latter $65million (£51million) domestically.
The stars of the respective films have also been on board with a potential Glicked phenomenon, with Gladiator 2 star Paul Mescal telling The Hollywood Reporter: “I don’t wanna jinx anything. How amazing would that be for this industry? I think that was such a massive moment for the industry last year and if we can replicate anything next to near that, it could be huge.”
Wicked stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande also agreed that it should be dubbed Glicked with the former telling Entertainment Tonight: “Glicked is what it is and that is what we should be doing.”
However, experts in the film industry are now suggesting the releases won’t be able to top Barbenheimer.
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande attend Universal’s “Wicked” premiere at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, November 9, 2024. CREDIT: VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images
Tim Richards, CEO of Vue cinemas, told the Guardian that, unlike Barbenheimer, there’s little evidence of movie-goers booking double bills to see both films. “People are, however, booking both movies pretty extensively right now,” he said. “The word of mouth has been very strong, and all social media has been on fire.”
He went on to say that Wicked is going to be “absolutely extraordinary”. “We’ve sold almost a quarter of a million tickets before a single screening – that’s more pre-sales than Barbie. They’re talking of an opening weekend of somewhere between $160m and $200m.”
Meanwhile, David Hancock, a media and entertainment analyst at Omdia, suggested that Glicked couldn’t attain the same hype as Barbenheimer as it doesn’t have the same authenticity to the original phenomenon. “It isn’t a double bill. Gladdington was also tried, and didn’t set alight, because it seemed forced and derivative,” he told the publication.
Hancock added that Barbenheimer was a more organic pop culture moment. “It was a particular moment [in the recovery of cinema], at a particular time [summer] with particular films [they both were original scripts].”
Denzel Washington and Paul Mescal, seen here with Ridley Scott, both star in ‘Gladiator II’. CREDIT: Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/WireImage via Getty Images
In a four-star review of Wicked, NME wrote: “Wicked flags a little in the middle, but not enough to dampen a dramatic climax in which Elphaba and Glinda travel to Oz to meet the fabled Wonderful Wizard (Jeff Goldblum). He and Yeoh sell their brief musical numbers on twinkly charisma, but Erivo and Grande are both vocally extraordinary.”
“Crucially, they also have crackling chemistry punctuated by Erivo’s bursts of intensity and Grande’s slick comic timing. By the end, you won’t quite be levitating off your seat but you’ll definitely be enchanted enough to stream the soundtrack on the way home. Funny, colourful and full of empathy for outsiders, this film really is the Shiz.”
Wicked Part Two is slated for a cinema release on November 21, 2025. Check out everything we know about it so far, here.
Meanwhile, Gladiator 2, was awarded three stars from NME: “If you loved Gladiator, it’s odds-on you’ll enjoy this too. It’s got all of the same exciting bits – swordfighting, rousing speeches, nasty poshos getting what they deserve,” Alex Flood wrote.
“The problem is that’s all it gives you. You want to feel like you’re watching Maximus lift off his helmet and deliver that iconic monologue for the first time again. You want the thrill of a core memory being unlocked. You want to know you’ll be quoting Mescal’s lines to your mates in the pub for the next 10 years. Gladiator 2, piously respectful as it is, can only offer a faded memory of that experience. There was a dream that was Rome – and this is kind of it.”
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