"Wicked," the blockbuster film based on the runaway Broadway hit, is continuing to lead a major box office resurgence, bringing in more than $250 million domestically, but "Moana 2," the animated musical film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, is catching up quickly, behind, already grossing $175 million since its release Wednesday.
Universal's "Wicked: Part One," told from the witches' point of view in "The Wizard of Oz," stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande and is in its second weekend, reports Deadline.
By Sunday, "Wicked" is expected to soar to just under $263 million domestically and $358 million worldwide.
However, it is not yet the highest-grossing movie based on a Broadway musical. Those honors go to "Mamma Mia!" at $611.2 million; "Les Miserables" at $442.7 million; and "Grease," at $396.2 million.
Still, some box office sources believed attendance for "Wicked," with a runtime of two hours and 40 minutes would suffer when compared to "Moana 2" at 100 minutes, but both movies are running strong.
"Moana 2" has the best five-day opening of all time and Thanksgiving, at $215 million to $220 million, but "Wicked" notched the third-best Black Friday box office numbers, behind "Moana 2" at $54.5 million and "Frozen 2," at $34.1 million.
Still, "Wicked" trails behind live-action musicals at the box office. In that category, the top five are "Barbie," at $636.2 million followed by the Disney live-takes on "The Lion King, $543.6 million; "Beauty and the Beast," $504.4 million; "The Jungle Book," $364 million; and "Aladdin, $355.5 million, reports Deadline.