Universal Pictures and Marc Platt, who both produced the stage musical, announced the film adaptation in 2012. After a long development and multiple delays, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chu was hired to direct, with Erivo and Grande cast in 2021. The adaptation was split into two parts to avoid omitting plot points and further develop the characters. Principal photography on both films began in December 2022 in England, was interrupted in July 2023 by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, and resumed and concluded in January 2024.
Wicked: For Good premiered at the Suhai Music Hall in São Paulo on November 4, 2025, and was released in the United States on November 21. It has grossed $524 million on a $150 million budget, becoming the second-highest-grossing Oz film and musical film adaptation.[10] Both the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute listed it among the top-ten films of 2025, and it received several accolades, including nominations for five Golden Globe Awards and seven Critics' Choice Awards (including Best Picture).
Elphaba encounters some Animals leaving Oz, including her former caretaker Dulcibear, and encourages them to fight against the Wizard. The Cowardly Lion dissuades them, exposing Elphaba as the reason for the Wizard's flying monkey spies. Elphaba visits her sister Nessarose, who has inherited their father's governorship of Munchkinland. Nessarose prohibits the Munchkins, including her servant Boq, from leaving without her approval. Elphaba enchants Nessarose's shoes, giving her the ability to fly. Boq, deciding Nessarose no longer needs him because of this and having learned of Glinda and Fiyero's wedding, tries to leave Nessarose. She casts a love spell from the Grimmerie, but it backfires, shrinking his heart. Elphaba's attempt to save him turns him into a tin man.
Elphaba returns to the Emerald City, where Glinda implores her to join the Wizard. She accepts under the condition that the flying monkeys be freed. Chistery, one of the monkeys, reveals several Animals imprisoned within the Wizard's lair, including Dr. Dillamond, who has lost his ability to speak. Reaffirming her resolve to fight the Wizard, Elphaba frees the Animals, interrupting Fiyero and Glinda's wedding. Fiyero helps Elphaba escape and joins her. Concluding that they are having an affair, Glinda vengefully suggests that the Wizard and Morrible lure out Elphaba by spreading a rumor that Nessarose is in trouble.
At their hideout, Elphaba and Fiyero profess mutual love. He sends her to an abandoned castle, Kiamo Ko, for shelter. Morrible, realizing a simple rumor would not fool Elphaba, creates a tornado that takes a house from Kansas, which fatally crushes Nessarose. Glinda gives Nessarose's shoes to the house's occupant, Dorothy Gale, and directs her to the Wizard, promising that he can help her return home. A fight begins between Glinda and Elphaba before the Gale Force arrives. Fiyero intervenes and holds back the guards by threatening to kill Glinda, who finally accepts that he loves Elphaba. While the guards drag Fiyero into a field and savagely beat him, Elphaba escapes with the monkeys to Kiamo Ko, where she casts a spell to save Fiyero's life. Believing she has failed, and lamenting all her previous failed attempts to do right, she decides to embrace her perceived "wickedness".
Dorothy, alongside Boq, the Lion, and a scarecrow, meets the Wizard, who instructs them to kill Elphaba and bring him her broom. Boq rallies the citizens of Emerald City against Elphaba. Lamenting that her public image is built on lies, Glinda confronts Morrible about the tornado, but Morrible rebuffs her. Glinda rushes to Kiamo Ko to warn Elphaba about the mob. Elphaba kidnaps Dorothy and imprisons her to retrieve the shoes just as Glinda arrives. After Chistery informs them of Fiyero's apparent death, Elphaba decides to surrender, imploring Glinda to withhold the truth from the people and entrusting her with the Grimmerie. They reaffirm their friendship in a tearful farewell. Glinda hides and watches in horror as Dorothy douses Elphaba in water, seemingly melting her.
Having regained speech, Chistery gives Glinda Elphaba's green elixir bottle, which belonged to Elphaba's mother. She brings it to the Wizard, who realizes that he is Elphaba's biological father and the reason for her power. Ashamed of his actions, he leaves Oz at Glinda's insistence. Glinda directs the monkeys to apprehend Morrible for her crimes. She finishes telling her story to the Munchkins and reestablishes rights for the Animals, who get their voices back. The Scarecrow—revealed to be Fiyero, transformed by Elphaba's spell—returns to Kiamo Ko and discovers Elphaba under a trapdoor, having faked her death to ensure that she is never seen in Oz again. They depart Oz while the Grimmerie opens for Glinda.
Omari Bernard was the movement artist for the Lion
Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, the former Dean of Sorcery at Shiz University, who is now the Press Secretary for the Wizard.[20]
Jeff Goldblum as the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, a conman masquerading as a "wizard", who rules Oz as a seemingly benevolent dictator. He is later revealed to be Elphaba's biological father.[21]
Bronwyn James as ShenShen, one of Glinda's college friends who now works as one of her assistants.[22]
Aaron Teoh as Avaric, Boq's friend and another one of Nessarose's servants.
Sharon D. Clarke as the voice of Dulcibear, a talking Bear and former nanny to the Thropp family, who is among those departing Oz.
Madeline Wilson was the movement artist for Dulcibear
Bethany Weaver as Dorothy Gale, a Kansas farm girl who is brought to Oz with her dog, Toto, by a tornado.[23] Though the character's presence is more prominent than in the stage musical, her face is obscured to keep the focus on Glinda and Elphaba,[24] save for a brief shot when Glinda sees her passing through a door crack.[25][26]
Samuel Wright as the Yellow Brick Road guard in the beginning of the movie.
Additionally, Keala Settle, Luisa Guerreiro, Adam James and Alice Fearn reprise their roles from Wicked as Miss Coddle, Dr. Dillamond's movement artist, and Glinda's parents, respectively. Courtney-Mae Briggs appears in archival footage as Mrs. Thropp, Elphaba and Nessarose's late mother.
A film adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked was announced in 2012,[27] with scheduled release dates of December 20, 2019, December 22, 2021, December 25, 2024, and November 27, 2024.[28] After numerous delays, the first film was released on November 22, 2024.[29] In April 2022, director Jon M. Chu announced that the adaptation would be split in two parts, saying:
As we prepared the production over the last year, it became impossible to wrestle the story of 'Wicked' into a single film without doing some real damage to it... As we tried to cut songs or trim characters, those decisions began to feel like fatal compromises to the source material that has entertained us all for so many years. We decided to give ourselves a bigger canvas and make not just one 'Wicked' movie but two! With more space, we can tell the story of 'Wicked' as it was meant to be told while bringing even more depth and surprise to the journeys for these beloved characters.[30]
Stephen Schwartz echoed Chu's sentiment in June, while also confirming that a new song was in the works for one of the two films:[31]
We found it very difficult to get past 'Defying Gravity' without a break... That song is written specifically to bring a curtain down, and whatever scene to follow it without a break just seemed hugely anti-climactic... Even as a very long single movie, it required us cutting or omitting things that we wanted to include and that we think fans of the show and the story will appreciate. What we have discussed is that changes need to be 'additive,' to use (producer) Marc Platt's term. They need to add something to the story or the characters. They can't just be changes to do something different. I feel confident that by the time the movie is made, if we all continue to have the same degree of input, I could have a conversation with anyone who has a question about any of the changes made from the stage show and justify why I think it's better for the movie.
In November 2022, Schwartz said the film would include two new songs "to meet the demands of the storytelling".[32] In December 2024, Chu said the film would have a darker tone and that the character of Dorothy Gale would have a more prominent role compared to the musical.[33][26]
Filming
Principal photography began alongside Wicked on December 9, 2022, and had nearly finished by July 2023 before production was suspended due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.[34] Filming resumed and concluded in January 2024.[35] The song vocals were recorded live on set at the insistence of Erivo and Grande, with production sound mixer Simon Hayes using a variation of the same recording techniques he implemented on Les Misérables.[36] Christopher Scott choreographed the musical numbers.[37]
Chu cited Steven Spielberg's 1991 film Hook as inspiration for the large-scale sets and practical effects, including nine million colorful tulips planted on location to surround the Munchkinland set and a paved yellow brick road with real mud.[38][39] Many sets from Wicked were repurposed in Wicked: For Good, such as the life-sized train to Emerald City doubling as Glinda's personal locomotive, and the Governor's Mansion in Munchkinland using elements of Shiz University's library and Madame Morrible's office.[40] Chu also cited the 1998 films Pleasantville and The Truman Show as influences on how Wicked and Wicked: For Good thematically portray the Land of Oz, saying, "It helps create this idea of the rebelliousness that this new younger generation are discovering... How far will that take everybody in Oz throughout the course of the whole story of both movies? It's an awakening of a generation. You start to see the truth about things that maybe you were taught differently."[41]
Boq's transformation into the Tin Man was a collaboration between production designer Nathan Crowley, costume designer Paul Tazewell, and prosthetic makeup designer Mark Coulier. The eleven-piece prosthetic set took four hours to apply to Ethan Slater's face and was designed in homage to Jack Haley's portrayal of the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz (1939), with minimal VFX work used to simulate the Tin Man's joints. The design of the Scarecrow, in contrast, deviates from Ray Bolger's portrayal in The Wizard of Oz by retaining much of Jonathan Bailey's likeness, including the removal of his blue eye contacts as Fiyero in favor of his natural brown eye color.[42]
Post-production and visual effects
Industrial Light & Magic and Framestore provided the visual effects for Wicked: For Good, with Pablo Helman serving as the production visual effects supervisor.[43] On February 6, 2024, it was confirmed that post-production work was in progress, with Chu working remotely with editor Myron Kerstein via the newly released Apple Vision Pro.[44][45][46] Editing was paused during most of 2024, so that Chu could finish post-production on Wicked and figure out how Wicked: For Good would continue the story. Post-production resumed in November 2024, following the press tour and release of Wicked, with editing done through Avid Media Composer.[47]
On December 16, 2024, the title was revealed as Wicked: For Good, sharing its subtitle with the name of the musical's penultimate song.[8] Chu defended the title as always having been the right choice over the working title, Wicked: Part Two,[48] though the latter was retained on certain international releases.[49][50]
John Powell (pictured in 2008) co-composed the incidental underscore with Stephen Schwartz.
The soundtrack album for Wicked: For Good was released on November 21, 2025, through Republic and Verve Records.[51][52] The score album was released on December 5, 2025.[53][54] As with Wicked, Schwartz composed the score alongside John Powell, who conducted the score cues with Gavin Greenaway.[55]Jeff Atmajian updated William David Brohn's original orchestrations for the songs and enlarged the orchestra from the stage version's original 23 musicians to 125. The song cues were conducted by original music director Stephen Oremus. Schwartz, Oremus, and Greg Wells served as the soundtrack's producers.[55][56][57][58]
In January 2025, Wells revealed that he and Atmajian were in the process of recording live instrumentals, with recording scheduled to happen in May or June 2025 with the orchestra at AIR Studios, followed by mixing over the subsequent months.[59] Later that month, a home studio belonging to Wells was destroyed in the 2025 Palisades Fire, halting production.[60]
Main musical numbers
"Every Day More Wicked" – Ozians, Madame Morrible, Elphaba and Glinda
"Thank Goodness/I Couldn't Be Happier" – Glinda, Morrible, Fiyero and Ozians
"A Wicked Good Finale" – Glinda, Elphaba and Ozians
"Every Day More Wicked" is a reprise of "No One Mourns the Wicked"[61] that also interpolates several songs from the first act and film, such as "The Wizard and I", "What Is This Feeling?", and "Popular".[62] "No Place Like Home" and "The Girl in the Bubble" were written for the film, with the former written in collaboration with Erivo.[63][64] "A Wicked Good Finale", adapted from the original "Finale" track from the stage musical, appears on the score album as opposed to the soundtrack album.[53][54]
New scenes depict Elphaba's efforts to liberate the Animals, some of whom are constructing the Yellow Brick Road under forced labor or are escaping Oz to regions unknown. She sings "No Place Like Home" to convince them to stay, only for the Cowardly Lion to appear and reveal that Elphaba gave the flying monkeys their wings. Before "The Wicked Witch of the East", Boq attempts to leave Munchkinland but is prevented by a decree from Nessarose that prohibits Animals and Munchkins from leaving the region. "The Wicked Witch of the East" is also revised to remove its ableist implications, with Nessarose's resentment over her disability changed to her remorse over her relationship with Boq. Instead of being able to walk upright, Nessarose now flies in the air after Elphaba enchants her shoes.[18][65]
Before confronting the Wizard in the Emerald City, Elphaba reunites with Glinda. The latter accompanies the Wizard during "Wonderful", which features revised lyrics and a reprise of "Defying Gravity". Afterward, Elphaba discovers an entire room filled with captive Animals, which plays against Glinda and Fiyero's wedding procession. As she descends further down, she finds Dr. Dillamond caged and unable to speak. Her outrage breaks the Animals out of their cages, who stampede through the ceremony as they flee.[66]
The tornado created by Madame Morrible is depicted on-screen, with Nessarose searching for Boq in the storm before Dorothy's house crushes her. Dorothy and Toto also appear on-screen, including their departure from Munchkinland, initial meeting with the Wizard, confrontation with Elphaba, and the launching of the hot air balloon. Dorothy's face is never clearly shown, and she doesn't encounter Elphaba in Munchkinland or on the Yellow Brick Road. While Elphaba follows the tornado back to Munchkinland, Fiyero comes across the flying monkeys and allies with them. The monkeys join him in freeing Elphaba from the Gale Force, then accompany her to Kiamo Ko.
"March of the Witch Hunters" is split into two sections, with Glinda singing "The Girl in the Bubble" in between before she confronts Morrible.[67] After "For Good", Glinda readmits the Animals into Ozian society in a continuation of her speech from the start of Wicked.[66] She does not remain in Munchkinland for "A Wicked Good Finale", instead visiting the tower where Elphaba first flew west. At the end of the song, the Grimmerie activates for Glinda, and the final shot of the film features her whispering in Elphaba's ear, recreating the Broadway poster.[66]
Release
Marketing
Work-in-process footage from both films in the adaptation was presented at CinemaCon on April 26, 2023.[68] The 60-second teaser trailer for Wicked, which premiered during Super Bowl LVIII on February 11, 2024, featured brief scenes from Wicked: For Good that expand the plot of the musical's second act, including clips of Glinda's wedding and the Wizard sending Dorothy and her traveling party to hunt Elphaba down.[69][70] In February 2025, Chu revealed that the Wicked: For Good theatrical trailer would premiere sometime in the spring or early summer, after technical difficulties with the visual effects prevented it from airing during Super Bowl LIX.[71]
The two-minute trailer premiered at CinemaCon on April 2, introduced on stage by Erivo, Grande, Chu and Platt.[72][73] It was publicly released on June 4, 2025, attached to a one-night theatrical re-release of Wicked, before premiering online afterwards.[74] Simultaneously, the Shiz University website introduced in the first film's promotional campaign was updated, replacing links to the college's locations with an audio recording of Madame Morrible's propaganda speech against Elphaba, and a ticker tape urging visitors to report any "suspicious witch activity" to Morrible and the Wizard. Dr. Dillamond's classroom page was also updated to replace the lecture of Oz's history on the chalkboard with the phrase "Animals should be seen and not heard", a reference to the character's fate in the first film.[75]
On June 9, Universal reported that the Wicked: For Good trailer received 113 million views in its first 24 hours, surpassing the 75 million views made in the same time-frame by its predecessor.[76] That same day, an episode of Lego Masters with challenges themed to Wicked aired on Fox in the United States as part of the series' fifth season.[77][78] On August 6, a "First Look" featurette was released, containing behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with Chu, Erivo, and Grande on the evolution between the two Wicked films.[79] A final theatrical trailer was released on September 24, 2025.[80]
On television, the tenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars featured a Wicked challenge in its seventh episode, where contestants worked in pairs to design outfits with a relevant backstory. Erivo and Grande sat on the panel as guest judges. For the sixth week of its thirty-fourth season, Dancing with the Stars held a "Wicked Night" where couples danced to songs from Wicked and Wicked: For Good. Chu appeared as a guest judge, while Erivo, Grande, Jonathan Bailey, and Michelle Yeoh appeared in pre-recorded greetings. The episode included a new clip from the "Wonderful" performance.[81] A musical television special, Wicked: One Wonderful Night, aired on NBC on November 6, featuring the cast and special guests performing songs from Wicked and Wicked: For Good live from the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.[82][83] An encore presentation of the special aired on December 31.[84]Wicked was shown on NBC on November 19, 2025.[85]
Universal's direct global promotional efforts for Wicked: For Good were scaled back from the first film, with a $90 million budget, compared to the $150 million budget for Wicked.[86] However, the second film had over 400 brand partners for international marketing, with $330 million in media value, the second largest spend ever, just shy of the record-breaking $350 million from marketing partners for the first film.[87]
Theatrical
Wicked: For Good was screened privately at the DGA Theater in Manhattan, New York on October 27, 2025, with Grande, Chu, Platt, Schwartz, and members of the Broadway cast in attendance.[88] Two private screenings were held in London on November 9; one for members of the musical's West End production, and another for BAFTA voters that was followed by a discussion with members of the film crew, including cinematographer Alice Brooks and production designer Nathan Crowley.[citation needed]
Wicked: For Good was released on video on demand on December 30, 2025, in the United States.[99][100] It was released on 4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on January 20, 2026, by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. On January 1, 2026, Wicked: For Good became available to purchase or rent online through Roku devices, with access to exclusive bonus features such as a dance performance of "Wonderful" choreographed by Christopher Scott and a choir version of "For Good" performed by MUSYCA Children's Choir.[101]
Reception
Box office
Advanced sales and marketing projections
Tickets for Wicked: For Good went on sale on October 8, 2025. The following day, Fandango announced that it was the site's best first-day ticket pre-seller of 2025, surpassing Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle, Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, and Superman. It additionally became the biggest PG-rated first-day ticket pre-seller of all time, ahead of Frozen 2, the 2019 remake of The Lion King, and the sing-along version of KPop Demon Hunters, and entered the top 10 best first-day ticket pre-sellers of all time on Fandango. Jerramy Hainline, EVP of Fandango Ticketing, said: "With last year's Wicked breaking records and captivating audiences around the world, it is no surprise that fans are racing to get their tickets to Wicked: For Good ... The first film became a true cultural phenomenon bringing new generations into the world of Wicked, and it's clear that fans can't wait to see how the story continues on the big screen."[102]Deadline Hollywood projected the film to gross $112–115 million in its domestic opening weekend, on par with the $112.5 million opening gross of the first film,[103] while Variety projected an opening weekend as high as $150–180 million.[104]
Performance
As of January20,2026[update], Wicked: For Good has grossed $343 million in the United States and Canada, and $182 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $524 million.[6][7]
In the United States and Canada, it made $69.1 million on its opening day, which included $30.8 million from preview showings in the week leading up to its release: $6.1 million on Monday, $6.5 million on Wednesday, and $18.2 million on Thursday. Its box office previews were the biggest of the year, surpassing The Fantastic Four: First Steps ($24.4 million).[105][106] The film topped the domestic and international box offices with grosses of $147 million and $223 million, respectively, surpassing its predecessor to earn the highest opening weekend for a Broadway adaptation. It also ranked as the second-biggest opening of 2025 behind A Minecraft Movie ($162.8 million), the third-biggest opening for a Universal film behind Jurassic World ($208.8 million) and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom ($148 million), the second-biggest pre-Thanksgiving debut behind The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ($158 million), and the third-biggest opening for a musical film behind the remakes of The Lion King ($191.8 million) and Beauty and the Beast ($174.8 million).[107][108][109]
In its second weekend, Wicked: For Good grossed $62.8 million (and a total of $93 million over the five-day Thanksgiving frame), dropping 57% and finishing second behind newcomer Zootopia 2.[110] During its third weekend, the film fell to third place, grossing $17.3 million behind Five Nights at Freddy's 2 and Zootopia 2.[111][112]
Critical response
Grande and Erivo continued to garner praise despite the film's mixed reception.
Wicked: For Good was received less enthusiastically than its predecessor,[f] with its critical reception described as mostly positive[g] or mixed.[h] Reviews generally praised the performances of the cast (particularly that of Grande and Erivo), the production design, and costuming, but took issue with the direction, pacing, and connections back to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.[123][124]On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 66% of 347 critics' reviews are positive.The website's consensus reads: "Taking one last lap down the yellow brick road, Wicked: For Good's darker tone and unhurried pacing sometimes get in the way, but this epic conclusion ultimately brings Elphaba and Glinda's story home in rousing fashion."[125]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 58 out of 100, based on 60 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[126] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it a 92% overall positive score, with 82% saying they would "definitely recommend" it.[127][128]
Early reactions to Wicked: For Good deemed it superior to the first film and the second act of the stage musical, with Chu's direction and the performances of Erivo and Grande lauded.[129] Justin Chang of The New Yorker shared his critique of the film stating it's "so cowed by its iconic predecessor" (the 1939 Wizard of Oz and the stage musical) that instead of building authentically, it reacts with destructiveness – almost a petulant attempt to outdo what came before.[130] Donald Clarke of The Irish Times gave the film a rating of two out of five, stating that "if you bought the first film's brash visual aesthetic – the result of a giant toddler vomiting candyfloss all over Walt Disney World – then you will be relieved to discover it has got no less stomach-unsettling."[131]
Accolades
In contrast to the ten nominations and two Academy Award wins earned by Wicked at the 97th ceremony, Wicked: For Good failed to receive any nominations at the 98th ceremony, despite previously being shortlisted in eight categories.[132]
In November 2024, Schwartz and Holzman stated they had discussed the possibility of "something" more associated with the Wicked film adaptation, but that it would not necessarily be a Wicked Part Three or Four.[188] Since the first film's release, the adaptation overall is in the process of evolving into a media franchise. The New York Times has reported that Universal Destinations & Experiences is considering theme park attractions based on the films, but no rides or attractions have been announced.[189]
↑Holzman is credited twice for writing the screenplay; first as a solo writer and as part of a writing team with Dana Fox.
123Per her own request, Grande is credited on-screen with her full name, Ariana Grande-Butera.[9]
↑The film was originally announced as Wicked: Part Two before being re-titled in December 2024, but the previous name is still used in some regions, stylized with either Arabic (Part 2) or Roman numerals (Part II).[8]
↑Glinda's full identity is given as "Glinda the Good Witch of the North" in the script of the first film. It is not mentioned by that title in the film's dialogue and credits.[11]
↑Frei, Vincent (February 12, 2024). "Wicked Part One". The Art of VFX (in French). Archived from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
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