Wicked: For Good is even more popular than the 1st, soaring to $226M global debut

Universal Pictures’ two-part “Wicked” gamble continues to defy gravity at the box office.Just a year after part one brought droves of audiences to movie theaters around the country, even more people bought opening weekend tickets to see the epic conclusion, “Wicked: For Good.” According to studio estimates on Sunday, “Wicked: For Good” earned $150 million from North American theaters in its first days in theaters and $226 million globally.Not only is it the biggest opening ever for a Broadway musical adaptation, unseating the record set by the first film’s $112 million launch, it’s also the second biggest debut of the year behind “A Minecraft Movie’s” $162 million.

“The results are just fantastic,” said Jim Orr, who heads domestic distribution for Universal.“Some films can deliver a false positive when tickets go on sale early but these results speak for themselves."Universal began rolling out “Wicked: For Good” in theaters earlier this week, with previews on Monday ($6.1 million from 1,050 theaters) and Wednesday ($6.5 million from 2,300 theaters).

By Friday it was playing in 4,115 North American locations and had raked in $68.6 million.IMAX showings accounted for $15.5 million, or 11%, of its domestic haul — a November record for the company.IMAX CEO Rich Gelfond said in a statement that the strong market share shows, “our momentum carries into demos and genres beyond our traditional core, including families.”As with the first film, women powered opening weekend, making up around 71% of ticket buyers according to PostTrak exit polls.

Critics were somewhat mixed on the final chapter, but audiences weren’t: An overwhelming 83% of audiences said it was one they would “definitely recommend” to friends.As far as foot traffic is concerned, the box office tracker EntTelligence estimates that about 2 million more people came out for “Wicked: For Good's” first weekend than for “Wicked's."Jon M.

Chu directed both “Wi...