From Broadway to blockbuster: How Universal built a multi-million dollar 'Wicked' empire

Back successful 2024, Universal conjured a pinkish and greenish tornado that swept popular culture.

From themed drinks astatine Starbucks and dolls of Elphaba and Glinda, to associated appearances by stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande astatine the Olympics and passim a heavily-publicized property tour, “Wicked” was everywhere.

As the decision of the two-part movie franchise heads to theaters astatine the extremity of the week, the selling for “Wicked: For Good” has accelerated.

There are inactive themed Legos, but present besides Gain laundry scent boosters, Swiffers and Pottery Barn bedding. There was a “Wicked” nighttime connected rival web ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” and a “Wicked: One Wonderful Night” philharmonic lawsuit broadcast connected NBC.

The implicit takeover of civilization was each portion of Universal’s program to physique 1 of its biggest and astir important franchises, which has already brought successful astir $759 cardinal successful worldwide container bureau gross for the archetypal film, not to notation the haul from merchandise sales, taxable parkland tie-ins and different categories.

Beyond the contiguous revenue, “Wicked” besides gives Universal a rare, female-focused franchise, an underserved audience, peculiarly arsenic truthful galore caller films person been geared toward men.

The occurrence of the Broadway play, which has tally for much than 2 decades, gave Universal the assurance successful its imaginable for the large screen, said David O’Connor, president of franchise absorption and marque strategy astatine Universal Pictures. He’s besides been a instrumentality of the signifier accumulation astir from the opening — helium watched a array speechmaking connected the Universal lot, saw the philharmonic additions to the publication and finally, its tally successful San Francisco.

“For us, you had this imaginable to truly instrumentality the fanship and truly marque ‘Wicked’ into a taste imperative,” helium said successful a telephone from New York up of the film’s premiere. “When you deliberation astir the characters, the 2 leads, the themes of friendship, individuality and empowerment, and however that resonates universally, and then, of course, the fantastical worlds of Oz and Shiz and Munchkinland, it conscionable seemed similar specified a large accidental for us.”

“Wicked” has proved to beryllium a cardinal boost to Universal’s lineup of blockbuster franchises.

Though the workplace boasts bid similar “Jurassic Park,” “Despicable Me” and “Fast & Furious,” it has lacked the heavy roster of intelligence spot that rivals similar Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. have, said Brandon Katz, manager of insights and contented strategy astatine information steadfast Greenlight Analytics.

The bid “has truly emerged arsenic a much-needed, caller tentpole for Universal,” helium said. “There’s specified a waterfall of worth that this two-part franchise creates that Universal volition beryllium banking retired connected this for years to come.”

The 2 films were changeable back-to-back, with a combined accumulation fund of $300 million, reportedly divided evenly betwixt the two.

So far, involvement for the 2nd movie is precocious — arsenic of Thursday, “Wicked: For Good” was the highest summons pre-seller of the year, according to Fandango. It is besides the highest PG-rated summons pre-seller ever connected the Fandango platform, passing 2017’s live-action “Beauty and the Beast,” 2019’s animated deed “Frozen 2” and the archetypal “Wicked.”

The movie is tracking to haul successful $150 cardinal to $160 cardinal successful its opening weekend, according to estimates from manufacture analysts.

And the film’s entreaty to women is crucial, peculiarly successful a twelvemonth erstwhile determination were fewer films geared toward pistillate viewers. Despite the persistent debates astir the dearth of female-focused films, determination person been fewer big, caller hits, different than 2023’s “Barbie” and past year’s “Wicked.”

“Every 3 oregon 4 years, pistillate audiences are rediscovered with immoderate hit,” said Alisa Perren, prof successful the section of radio-television-film astatine the University of Texas astatine Austin’s assemblage of communication. “It’s benignant of striking however small mainstream pistillate [films] person been released.”

To tribunal each audiences, including those who were acquainted with the play arsenic good arsenic those caller to the story, Universal leaned into its alleged Symphony programme to leverage each arms of the institution to beforehand a film.

The programme has been utilized antecedently for films similar “Despicable Me” and has go a captious portion of the selling campaign, O’Connor said.

One caller strategy the institution utilized for supporting this franchise was gathering a “Wicked” fair, which was held connected acceptable successful 2023 successful London and allowed much than 200 partners to get a consciousness for the story, spot the filmmakers and actors and conscionable heads of departments, similar costumes and props. The workplace has done acceptable visits successful the past, but thing similar this.

That unfastened location was pivotal successful driving concern agreements and started to substance the franchise’s success, O’Connor said. One of those was Lego, which signed connected with “Wicked” aft the just and has been a spouse connected some films with merchandise lines and an occurrence of “Lego Masters.”

Because not each geographic markets had the aforesaid built-in consciousness of the Broadway play, getting firm brands on-board was cardinal to expanding cognition of “Wicked” astir the globe, helium said.

Though “Wicked: For Good” marks the decision to the two-film series, O’Connor was coy astir what’s adjacent for the franchise.

“Our absorption remains connected gathering experiences that volition deepen that transportation to ‘Wicked,’” helium said. “And each I tin accidental is, we are precise committed to ‘Wicked,’ but it’s astir apt excessively aboriginal to stock overmuch much than that.”