Box Office: Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo's Wicked BREAKS record for Digital Sales and Rentals by grossing USD 70 million in USA Alone in first week
Wicked, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, set a new record with USD 70 million in digital sales and rentals during its first week, complementing its successful theatrical run.
Wicked, the highest-grossing Broadway musical movie of all time, raked in a whopping $70 million in its first seven days on Premium VOD, Universal reported on Thursday, January 9. This latest feat for the Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo starrer comes amid its ongoing success at the box office, both domestically and globally.
Directed by Jon M. Chu, the movie stars Grande and Erivo alongside an ensemble cast that includes Jonathan Bailey, Michelle Yeoh, Peter Dinklage, Jeff Goldblum, Ethan Slater, and more. It landed in homes on December 31, and on its first day alone, generated $26M in Premium EST and Premium VOD sales.
Universal is offering Wicked to consumers at a $29.99 price point for Premium EST (Digital Ownership) and $19.99 for PVOD (Digital Rental).
With its first-day digital earnings, the screen adaptation of the 2003 Tony-winning Broadway show became Universal’s biggest theatrical title with a premium release. The total is twice as high as the studio’s second-largest Day 1 for a theatrically released production, Illumination/Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Universal’s most successful PVOD offering prior to Wicked made $44M, and Wicked still has 2 ½ months left in its exclusive premium home entertainment window before it lands on NBCUniversal’s streaming platform, Peacock.
Universal releases its titles for home viewing after their fifth theatrical weekend. For Wicked, which released on November 22, this would have meant Tuesday, December 24. However, the studio decided to hold it back another week to capitalize on the Christmas and New Year’s holiday crowd.
In the weekend after its PVOD release, Wicked eased 50% at the North American weekend box office, grossing $9.98M. The Golden Globe-winning movie currently stands at $453 million at the domestic box office and $700M worldwide.
Releasing titles for home viewing is a profitable move for the production house. In the case of digital releases, producers get to keep every penny of the revenue, unlike the movie’s theatrical run, where they only retain 45% of the profit.
Wicked has generated solid word-of-mouth following its PVOD release, which is expected to help the second part of the movie, set for a November 2025 release, perform even better in theaters.