Box Office: ‘Wicked: For Good’ Earns Huge $30.8 Million in Previews, Highest of the Year

Universal’s sequel Wicked: For Good registered a record $30.8 million in previews — the biggest pre-opening haul of the year — but that total includes early fan screenings (Monday $6.1m, Wednesday $6.5m) with $18.2m coming from Thursday showings; industry models project a $150m–$180m opening weekend that could be 2025’s largest, while Universal is conservatively forecasting $125m. The strong early demand, driven by marquee casting and momentum from last year’s Wicked, positions the film to anchor the holiday box office and potentially outpace recent debuts (Minecraft Movie opened at $162m), while smaller releases this weekend such as Sony’s Sisu: Road to Revenge (projected ~ $3m) and Searchlight’s Rental Family are expected to have minimal box-office impact.

Analysis

Universal’s sequel Wicked: For Good generated $30.8 million in previews, the largest pre-opening haul of 2025, but that total includes $6.1 million from Monday fan screenings and $6.5 million from Wednesday early showings; Thursday alone accounted for $18.2 million. Industry models cited in the article place the weekend projection at $150–$180 million, while Universal is conservatively forecasting a $125 million opening, and prior comparators include Warner Bros.’ Superman ($22.5m previews) and the Minecraft Movie ($162m opening after $10.6m previews).

Last year’s Wicked had $19.2 million in previews and a $112.5 million opening, and the franchise helped drive a record Thanksgiving box office of $420 million; strong cast recognition and pop-culture momentum are cited as demand drivers for this weekend. Competing releases are expected to have minimal impact on the top-line this weekend—Sony’s Sisu is projected at ~$3 million with $575,000 in Thursday previews and Searchlight’s Rental Family in the low single digits.

The article’s sentiment signal is moderately positive (0.45) with a modest market-impact score (0.3), reflecting strong demand but measurement noise from early fan screenings sponsored by AMZN. Key risks are upside/downside sensitivity to actual weekend receipts versus the conservative $125m guidance and sequencing effects from next week’s Disney Zootopia 2 release that could reallocate family demand.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Monitor actual weekend box-office receipts versus Universal's $125m guidance and the $150–$180m industry projection as a near-term catalyst for theatrical chains and media sentiment
• Consider modest, tactical exposure to AMZN-linked promotional benefits if tracking metrics show measurable Prime engagement lift from sponsored fan screenings, but limit position size given low direct revenue visibility
• Defer material new positions in DIS until Zootopia 2’s opening next week clarifies family-demand sustainability and holiday box-office crowding effects
• Reduce or hedge incremental theatrical-revenue exposure to SONY ahead of Sisu’s weak preview metrics and low projected opening, or await post-weekend box-office data before adding exposure