It will be a battle between wands and swords as Wicked and Gladiator II are to go head-to-head at the box office on Friday, November 22nd.
The double release is a bid to recreate the movie magic of Barbieheimer, which saw thousands flock to cinemas when Barbie and Oppenheimer was released on the same day in 2023.
Vanity Fair reports Wicked have moved their date from Wednesday 20 to two days later when Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II will be released, meanings fans will have to pick which film they see first.
Wicked director Jon M. Chu spoke about the schedule shake-up on X, formerly Twitter, and named the clash ‘Glicked’.
He said: ‘#Glicked November 22nd. Bring… everyone . #Erivo #Grande #Washington #Pascal #Mescal #Goldblum #Yeoh #Bailey #Scott #Chu & You’
It will be a battle between wands and swords as Wicked and Gladiator II are to go head-to-head at the box office on Friday, November 22nd
Vanity Fair reports Wicked have moved their date from Wednesday 20 to two days later when Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II will be released, meanings fans will have to pick what they see
Barbie and Oppenheimer became a combined cultural phenomenon over summer 2023.
After the two films were released on the same day – July 21 – Barbenheimer gripped film fans who made an event out of going directly from the screening of one to the other.
Barbie and Oppenheimer made more than $240 million combined in their opening weekend, making it the fourth-biggest box-office weekend of all time, after Margot Robbie refused to move the clashing release date to help drum up publicity.
The Greta Gerwig hit tops the list grossing over $1.4 billion with Oppenheimer just short of the billion mark.
Starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling as its leads, Barbie was an instant hit in July and enjoyed the biggest Box Office debut of the year.
Many fans were pleasantly surprised by the movies deeper meaning and messages around misogyny and its countless cinematic references and Easter eggs throughout.
Running at almost two hours, the adventure-comedy follows its title character as she and her land suffer a mysterious crisis at the hands of her owner and the Kens respectively.
Oppenheimer also brought a strong cast as the biopic of the ‘father of the atomic bomb’ grossed just over $950m and took home seven Oscars.
Wicked director Jon M. Chu spoke about the schedule shake-up on X, formerly Twitter , and named the clash ‘Glicked’
Barbie and Oppenheimer made more than $240 million combined in their opening weekend (pictured Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling)
Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer became the highest-grossing World War II film ever
Due for release later this year, Paul Mescal, 28, takes on the role of Roman Empire Lucius Verus, the grown-up son of Lucilla
The Last Of Us actor Pedro Pascal plays Roman general Acacius, who trained as a gladiator beneath Russell’s character Maximum (pictured)
It is a sequel to Russell Crowe’s 2000 film Gladiator (pictured)
The Christopher Nolan epic, starring Cillian Murphy, also broke recodes in overtaking Dunkirk ($527m), Saving Private Ryan ($482m) and Pearl Harbor ($449m) to become the highest-grossing World War II film ever.
Wicked Part 1 was originally set for a Christmas Day, 2024 release but it has been moved to November. The second part of the musical is scheduled to hit cinemas in November, 2025.
It boasts a star-studded cast which showcases the impressive vocal talents of lead stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.
Ariana, 31, portrays Glinda the Good Witch in the upcoming film based on Gregory Maguire’s best selling novel and the hit Broadway musical adaptation while Cynthia takes on the role of Elphaba.
It is a prequel to the The Wizard of Oz in which the storyline proceeds Dorothy and details the one-time friendship between the Elphaba and Glinda characters.
The set is where she met her boyfriend, Ethan Slater, who plays Boq, a resident of Munchkinland.
Gladiator II, meanwhile, sees Paul Mescal, 28, takes on the role of Roman Empire Lucius Verus, the grown-up son of Lucilla, portrayed as a child in the Oscar-winning original from 2000 starring Russell Crowe.
The Last Of Us actor Pedro Pascal plays Roman general Acacius, who trained as a gladiator beneath Russell’s character Maximum, while Denzel Washington, 69, is Macrinus.
The sequel will be set after Maximus’ death, following Lucius, who has long thought that his mother is dead only to clap eyes on her when he is brought to Rome as a slave.
The cast also includes Joseph Quinn as Emperor Caracalla, Fred Hechinger as Emperor Greta as a pair of brothers who rule a decaying and corrupt Rome.
Meanwhile returning Gladiator stars Connie Nielsen (Lucilla) and Derek Jacobi (Senator Gracchus) will also be returning for the sequel.
Director Ridley is back to helm the reported £250M sequel, after the original bagged five Oscars including Best Director, Best Actor and Best Picture, as well as earning £400M worldwide.
The original story is set in 180 AD, followed Maximus (Crowe) returning home after leading Roman forces to victory over Germanic tribes.
Meanwhile, his Emperor, Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), is secretly murdered by his treacherous son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), after telling him he was unfit to rule.
After Maximus refused to pledge his loyalty to Commodus, he murdered his family, as Maximus is captured by slave traders as he must fight his way through various obstacles to get his vengeance against Commodus.
The film from director Ridley Scott and writers David Franzoni, John Logan and William Nicholson is still considered a classic.
While there had been talk of a sequel since 2001, it never fully came to fruition since 2018 when Paramount gave the project a green light.
