FILE – Cynthia Erivo, left, and Ariana Grande arrive at the premiere of ‘Wicked’ at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, Nov. 9, 2024. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP File)

LOS ANGELES – “Wicked” opened to $117 million this weekend to lead all films in North America, scoring the third-biggest opening weekend of 2024, according to industry estimates released Sunday.

Fueled by a massive marketing campaign and the memory of its source material’s record-setting run on Broadway, the Universal Pictures release trails only “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which opened to $211 million, and “Inside Out 2,” which opened to $151 million, among this year’s releases. It’s also a record for a Broadway musical adaptation.

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The musical fantasy was directed by Jon M. Chu, and features pop star Ariana Grande and British actress and singer Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, a young woman misunderstood because of her green skin who eventually becomes the Wicked Witch of the West from “The Wizard of Oz.”

FILE – Ariana Grande, left, poses for a selfie with a fan at the premiere of ‘Wicked’ at Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angele, Nov. 9, 2024. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP File)

The film debuted with $164.2 million globally for Universal Pictures.

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Director Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II” opened in second place with $55.5 million, Comscore reported. The sequel to 2000’s Oscar winner for best picture stars Denzel Washington, Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal.

With a combined $270 million in worldwide ticket sales, “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” breathed fresh life into a box office that has struggled lately, leading to one of the busiest moviegoing weekends of the year.

“Red One,” a Christmas-themed action comedy starring The Rock, slipped to third place with $13.2 million Friday through Sunday, one week after opening in first place with a $34 million weekend.

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The historical drama “Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin” opened in fourth place with $5.1 million, followed by “Venom: The Last Dance,” which grossed $4 million in its fifth weekend in theaters in the United States and Canada.

Rounding out the top 10 domestic releases were “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” ($3.5 million), “Heretic” ($2.2 million), “The Wild Robot” ($2 million), “Smile 2” ($1.11 million) and “A Real Pain” ($1.1 million). (With CNS report)

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