‘Wicked’ soared into theaters over the weekend, taking in a whopping $114 million in the United States alone. Combined with over $50 million in international ticket sales, the film claimed more than $164 million globally during opening weekend.
The smash hit starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo brings the acclaimed Broadway play to life on the silver screen. The film follows the Wicked Witch and the Good Witch from the 1939 classic, ‘The Wizard of Oz’. We meet them both in their youth, years before Dorothy would make her way from Kansas into the magical city.
Erivo stars as Elphaba, a misunderstood young witch born with green skin. Elphaba, who becomes “The Wicked Witch of the West”, navigates life at Shiz University just outside the city of Oz.
There, she meets Grande’s character, the wealthy and popular Galinda. Galinda, who later becomes “Glinda the Good Witch”, and Elphaba find themselves paired together as roommates at the university.
The pair form an unlikely friendship and embark on a journeys soon finds them at a climactic crossroads.
The film brings Oz to life with powerful performances and inspiring sights
Wicked takes audiences on a visually stunning and emotionally beautiful ride. Every moment of the 2 hour and 40 minute film weaves deep, meaningful messaging into a bright and brilliant reimagining of the land of Oz.
To bring the world to life, director Jon Chu ensured the actors themselves could actually live in Oz.
In an interview with NPR, Cynthia Erivo revealed that much of the set was actually built out, rather than computer generated.
“When we were on the set, we were on the set – very little green screen, very little blue screen,” she said. “Everything is – you can touch it. You can feel it. So it felt like you could sort of disappear into the world.”
Co-starring incredible talent like Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh, Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey, and SNL’s Bowen Yang, ‘Wicked’ leaves audiences laughing, crying, and cheering throughout the entirety of the film.
‘Wicked’ gives a deep and profound allegory to the experiences of Black women with Erivo’s groundbreaking performance.
But deeper than the traditional elements of beautiful cinema is a clear allegory of discrimination and racism.
From birth, Elphaba is outcast because of her green skin. She is frequently othered, ostracized, and even criminalized simply due to her pigmentation.
Erivo made a conscious decision to be painted green, rather than use CGI to alter her skin color.
“I’d like to actually be green because I’m not sure that the CGI will sit the way you need it to,” Erivo said. “I want it to still feel like it’s my skin.”
Erivo drew on her own experiences as a Black woman, and channeled them into her portrayal of Elphaba.
“I think I’ve had some time to reckon with the skin I’m in and to be comfortable walking into a room and being the only one,” she told Refinery 29.
For Erivo, it was essential to ensure that Elphaba walked through the world with a certain level of confidence in her own skin.
“I felt like, why would she not be confident in what she looks like if it’s what she knows every single day?”
Cynthia Erivo shares what it meant for her to play Elphaba
But as much confidence as Erivo channeled into playing Elphaba, she gained that same confidence in her own life.
“Playing Elphaba has given me the chance to put [vulnerability] on the outside,” Erivo told Pink News. “I think people often assume that I’m strong… assume my feelings aren’t at the surface.”
She says playing Elphaba let her show others “that I’m a person and I feel.”
“Someone said to me once that the green was the thing that I would love the most about Elphaba, that I would want to stay green. Being green yes, I loved playing this character,” she continued, becoming emotional. “But every time I took the makeup off, I loved who I was even more.”
“I’ve come away feeling really beautiful,” she added, seemingly on the verge of tears.
Sitting next to her co-star and friend during the interview, Ariana Grande held Erivo’s hand as she turned toward her.
“Because you fucking are,” Grande said.
The film, divided into two parts, ends with Erivo’s powerful and emotional rendition of ‘Defying Gravity’.
With a one year intermission between parts one and two of the story, audiences are sure to be anxiously awaiting the powerful conclusion in November 2025.