On Nov. 22, 2024, the movie “Gladiator II” and movie-musical “Wicked” were released in theaters around the world. Since these two famous movies came out the same day, many have referred to this pair as “Glicked.”
This duo reminds moviegoers of “Barbenheimer,” “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer,” which were blockbuster movies released on July 21, 2023. There have not been two movies out at the same time that have shared the same popularity of “Barbenhiemer” until now. Both cinephiles and off-and-on moviegoers have been intrigued by the idea of watching two contrasting movies back to back ever since the summer of 2023.
While “Glicked” and “Barbenheimer” are a year removed and the movies are vastly different, there are some similarities between the two pairings. “Barbie” and “Wicked” are both movie-musicals with lots of excitement and pizzazz! They are fun for the family and contain catchy songs that will be stuck in your head for days to come. Contrastingly, “Oppenheimer” and “Gladiator II” are complex movies with many fast-paced action scenes. They are completely different genres from the two movie musicals, yet both can appeal to the same audience.
Even before “Wicked” came out, it was receiving a large amount of publicity. Many companies collaborated with “Wicked” to sell merchandise. There have been many “Wicked” commercials on TV, and the stars of the cast did interviews that were aired on the news and posted on social media. As “Wicked” has been a Broadway musical for 21 years, the movie’s execution and cast have experienced more pressure. Fans had been waiting for Nov. 22 to see if co-stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande would do justice to the famous musical. There was a lot of negative talk about Grande being the actress for G(a)linda because many did not think she would accomplish what they wanted to see. She is more commonly known for her pop music, so many forget Grande has extensive acting experience, making Broadway debut in “13: The Musical” in 2008. After seeing the movie, most viewers changed their opinion of her acting and could not imagine anyone else playing this role.
“Gladiator II” also had pressure to succeed because the original movie, “Gladiator,” is very well-known and respected. Even though the first one came out in 2000, it is still known by the younger generation. According to IMDB, “Gladiator” has an average rating of 8.5 out of 10, while “Gladiator II” has only 6.9 out of 10. Although it has not been getting as good reviews as the first one, it has still been doing very well in theaters and is loved by many.
The casting was spectacular for both movies and had beautiful cinematography. There was some disappointment with the CGI in “Gladiator II,” but it contained many artistic shots made up for it. Every scene in Wicked looked just as bewitching as fans imagined it would, living up to the expectations. Both “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” have earned good reputations and are continuing to grow in popularity. According to Variety Magazine, during the five-day Thanksgiving break, Gladiator II made $44 million and Wicked doubled that with over $100 million! Their numbers in the box office keep increasing and viewers are going back to rewatch these blockbuster movies. Sydney Nicklas exclaimed, “ I liked Wicked so much that I saw it three times!”
