'Wicked,' starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, will no longer compete at the box office on Nov. 27 with 'Moana 2.'
Wicked is flying into theaters a little early!
The highly anticipated film adaptation of the Broadway sensation will now arrive a week early on Nov. 22, five days ahead of its initial Thanksgiving weekend release date of Nov. 27. The move pulls the film from direct competition with Disney's Moana 2, which is still slated to release on Nov. 27.
Wicked -- which stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo as its two main witches -- will now hit theaters on the same day as another major sequel, Gladiator II, which released first-look photos just hours prior to Universal Pictures' good news about Wicked's earlier release date.
On X (formerly Twitter), the film's director, Jon M. Chu, made the announcement to fans, sharing that The Wizard of Oz prequel -- which won three Tony Awards after its premiere on Broadway more than two decades ago -- would soon be defying gravity in theaters.
"5. DAYS. EARLIER!!!! Let’s goooo!! #WickedMovie #Nov22," Chu, 44, wrote in a tweet Monday evening.
The film follows the story of Glinda the Good Witch (Grande) and Erivo as Elphaba -- aka the Wicked Witch of the West -- and how they went from foes to unlikely friends while together on the campus of Shiz University The adaptation also stars Bridgerton's Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero -- the love interest who finds himself caught between Elphaba and Glinda -- Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh as headmistress Madame Morrible and Jeff Goldblum as the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
The announcement comes after ET spoke with the original Elphaba on Broadway, Idina Menzel, at the 2024 Tony Awards in June, where she shared her enthusiasm at the project -- which has been in development for nearly two decades -- finally arriving in theaters later this year.
"So excited. I've just been so proud of it, and it's gonna reach a whole other audience," Menzel said.
Later in the night, Menzel and her successor took to the stage together after Universal Pictures released another new trailer for Wicked. Much like the trailer featured short and sweet snippets of songs "Popular" and "Defying Gravity," the interaction between Menzel and Erivo prior to announcing the winner of Best Musical was just as exciting for fans of the musical.
"I'm just gonna go off script real quick to say how excited I am to see what I know is going to be an amazing performance in that movie that you're doing," Menzel said as Erivo replied, "I love you."
"And I just wanna say Green Girl power!" Menzel added.
Wicked: Part One releases on Nov. 22, 2024 while Wicked: Part Two is expected on Nov. 26, 2025.
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