Wicked beats Mamma Mia to become highest-grossing stage musical adaptation

By Casey Cooper-Fiske, PA Entertainment Reporter

Wicked has become the highest-grossing film adapted from a stage musical, beating Mamma Mia to the top spot.

The film, which stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, surpassed the Abba musical last weekend grossing a total of $635 million (€611 million) worldwide according to distributor Universal.

The total also puts it 5 per cent ahead of Mamma Mia 2, excluding Chinese box office figures.

Ireland and UK sales added $3.4 million dollars (€3.27 million) last weekend, rising by 7 per cent from last weekend as part of a $34.1 million boost worldwide over the weekend.

The movie serves as a prequel to The Wizard Of Oz (1939) and explores the friendship between Glinda and Elphaba before they become estranged, in the classic stories by L Frank Baum.

Grande landed her first Golden Globe nod for best supporting female actor in a motion picture for her role as Glinda, while British star Erivo received a nod for best female actor in a motion picture musical for portraying green-skinned witch Elphaba.

Wicked: For Good, a follow-up to the film, will be released in 2025.

The two-part film adaptation of the Broadway smash had been in the works since the stage version debuted in 2003, scoring Idina Menzel a Tony Award for best leading actress in a musical in her role as Elphaba.

Bullying of the green-skinned witch saw the film, which also stars Peter Dinklage, Jeff Goldblum and Jonathan Bailey, given a PG rating by the British Board Of Film Classification (BBFC) for “discrimination”.