Wicked moves its release date, will now open against Gladiator 2

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Jon M Chu’s musical adaptation Wicked has shifted its release date by five days, opening against Gladiator 2 in November. 


Universal has brought the release date of its upcoming musical adaptation Wicked forward by five days. The Jon M Chu-directed musical was supposed to open on 27th November, but the studio has now moved Wicked to open on 22nd November. Chu took to X (formerly Twitter) to deliver the news. 

Wicked, which stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, will now open alongside Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2. Could this be this year’s Barbenheimer? 

Chu’s musical likely moved its release date to avoid competition with Disney’s Moana 2. With Pixar’s Inside Out 2 performing well above expectations, crossing that magical $1bn line at the global box office, it’s a smart move from Universal. 

While there’s already considerable buzz for Gladiator 2, the two film’s will have different target audiences which should ensure healthy competition, but no real threat for their respective studios. 

Universal previously shifted Wicked from its original December release date to November, to avoid competition with two other family-friendly films, Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and Mufasa: The Lion King. Wicked Part II is still scheduled to be released on 25th November, 2025. 

The release date change seems to be for the US only for now. With such a big title, it would make sense for the film to open simultaneously in the UK as well. 

Vanity Fair shared the first stills from Scott’s upcoming Gladiator sequel, which showed Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal looking a little worse for wear during their battle scenes. Of filming fight scenes with Mescal, Pascal said he’d “rather be thrown from a building than have to fight him again.” 

Read more: Ridley Scott | On not getting to make the Alien and Blade Runner sequels

More on Wicked and Gladiator 2 as we hear it. 

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