With Gladiator II and Wicked, American cinemas are rubbing their hands

(Los Angeles) After the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon, the “Glicked” wave? In the United States, theater operators are hoping that the release this weekend of two of the most anticipated films of the year, Gladiator II et Wickedwill set the box office on fire like Barbie et Oppenheimer in 2023.

Gladiator II marks the return of Ridley Scott to ancient Rome, 24 years after his first epic crowned with the Oscar for best film. Wicked adapts a famous Broadway musical for the big screen, which chronicles the adventures of the witch of Wizard of Oz.

Produced respectively by the behemoths Paramount and Universal, the two films benefit from enormous marketing campaigns.

The Internet is already full of “Glicked” or “Wickiator” memes while multiplexes and shopping malls across the country are adorned with the green and pink tones associated with witches of Wickedor mini-Colosseums in cardboard.

No one knows if fans will dress in togas or witch hats, as they are invited, but operators are salivating in anticipation.

“I am convinced that this is going to be the biggest Thanksgiving that the industry has ever known,” assures AFP Jordan Hohman, executive at Phoenix Theaters.

In this chain of rooms, reservations for Wickedin which pop star Ariana Grande plays, are 63% ahead of those of the global hit Barbie before its release last year.

Help

American theaters may have rebounded, but they have never regained their pre-pandemic attendance.

They could really use a helping hand in 2024, a year during which programming was cut short by the delays of numerous productions, due to the strike which paralyzed Hollywood for six months in 2023.

Only a few films really stood out, like Vice-versa 2 from Pixar, or Deadpool & Wolverine this summer. Announced as a sensation, Joker: Folie à Deux has turned into a commercial flop.

In this context, the record summer of 2023 carried by Barbie and her peroxided doll, as well asOppenheimerportrait of the father of the atomic bomb, is a recipe to follow. In their opening weekend, both films grossed $245 million in North America.

Studios are historically reluctant to release two blockbusters at the same time.

But like the “Barbenheimer” duo, Wicked et Gladiator II “are not likely to step on each other’s toes,” observes David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research.

“They are aimed at different audiences,” he recalls, with a gender distinction in marketing.

Advertisements for Gladiator II are omnipresent during American football matches, while a makeup line inspired by Wicked is already on sale.

“Unexpected scenario”

At Cinema Con, the industry’s high mass organized each year in the spring in Las Vegas, Paramount set up shop at the Ceasar’s Palace casino and brought one of its managers in in a chariot, flanked by several Roman soldiers.

For its part, Universal had distributed thousands of green and pink plastic flowers to light up its conference on the theme of Wicked.

But despite this profusion of means, matching the heights reached by Barbie et Oppenheimer difficult evening.

“Barbenheimer was an example of massive two-film overperformance, […] an unexpected ideal scenario,” warns Daniel Lora, expert for Boxoffice Media.

The first indicators nevertheless remain encouraging.

Gladiator II was already released in dozens of other countries last week and has grossed $87 million. Paramount is hoping for similar numbers in the US this weekend.

Pour WickedUniversal – which produced “Oppenheimer” – hopes to exceed $100 million at the North American box office this weekend.

Reassuring prospects for cinema operators, who also rely on cartoons Moana 2 from Disney for the end of the year.

In 2024, “I don’t think it’s a two-film phenomenon,” says Cory Jacobson, the boss of Phoenix Theaters. “I believe there will be a three-movie phenomenon. »