Box Office: Wicked hits USD 5M in Japan, holds No 1 spot for third consecutive day after discount Wednesday growth

Wicked holds Japan’s box office crown with a USD 665K Discount Wednesday boost, reaching USD 5.2M in six days, while Doraemon: Nobita’s Art World Tales stays strong.

Written by Seema Sinha , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Mar 13, 2025 | 02:01 PM IST | 7.2K

Picture Courtesy: Universal Pictures

For the third consecutive day, Wicked remained firmly at the top of Japan’s box office, proving its enduring appeal. The musical fantasy film starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande collected an estimated USD 665K on Wednesday Discount Day, marking a strong 30.4% increase from Tuesday. With this surge, Wicked has now amassed a total of USD 5.2 million within just six days of its debut in the Asian country.

Meanwhile, Doraemon: Nobita’s Art World Tales, the 44th installment in the beloved anime franchise, continues to perform well. It held steady at the No. 3 spot, earning an estimated USD 225K on Wednesday, up 27.5% from Tuesday. With a six-day cume of USD 5.5 million, the domestic offering remains a fan favorite among Japanese moviegoers.

Directed by Jon M. Chu with a screenplay by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, Wicked adapts the first act of the 2003 Tony-winning Broadway musical by Stephen Schwartz and Holzman, which itself was inspired by Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel reimagining L. Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz and the iconic 1939 film.

The plot follows Elphaba Thropp (Erivo), the future Wicked Witch of the West, during her time at wizardry school, where she forms a complex relationship with Galinda Upland (Grande), who later becomes Glinda the Good. Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Peter Dinklage, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Marissa Bode, and more round out the film’s ensemble cast.

Universal and Marc Platt, both of whom produced the stage iteration, announced the screen adaptation in 2012. After years in development, Chu was brought on board as the director, with Erivo and Grande cast in 2021. The makers decided to split the story into two parts to preserve the integrity of the legendary tale. Filming began in England in December 2022 and, with a few bumps along the way, concluded in January 2024.

Wicked received widespread critical acclaim and became a cultural sensation following its November 2024 release. Regarding the critical acclaim, the film scored 10 nominations at the recently concluded 97th Academy Awards, which is quite telling.

Globally, Wicked has grossed USD 735 million worldwide on a USD 150 million budget, making it the highest-grossing musical adaptation in history. The sequel, Wicked: For Good, is set to release on November 21, 2025.