- Universal has moved Wicked’s release date to the same date as Gladiator II.
- Fans are saying that these two films are the new “Balbenheimer.”
- It will likely have to make more than $2 billion to compete with the previous blockbuster double feature.
With two blockbuster movies, “Wicked” and “Gladiator 2,” due for release on the same day, there may be a new “Babenheimer” in town.
Last year, the opposite movie “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” coincidentally were released on July 21st. This spawned a cultural moment known as “Barbenheimer,” when moviegoers began watching double features and breathed new life into a struggling film industry.
Sources told Business Insider’s Jason Guerrasio last July that “Oppenheimer” director Christopher Nolan was upset about the release date change. “Barbie” actress and producer Margot Robbie said on Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series in December that “Oppenheimer” producers called her offering to change the release date, but she turned them down.
Despite fears of conflict, “Oppenheimer” was a huge success: “Barbie” became Warner Bros.’ highest-grossing film, and “Oppenheimer” set a new box office record for a biopic. Together, the two films grossed more than $2 billion.
Universal announced Monday that it was moving the release date of “Wicked” from Nov. 27 to Nov. 22 so that it would overlap with Paramount’s “Gladiator II.” Moviegoers are calling the films the new “Babenheimer.”
Others complained that it seemed like an attempt to recreate the “Barbenheimer” phenomenon.
Last year, fans who realized that “Saw X” and the “Paw Patrol” movies were coming out on the same day tried to get “Saw Patrol” released, but it didn’t generate the same buzz as “Babenheimer.”
“Wicked” and “Gladiator 2” would probably be more successful.
Directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, House of Gucci), Gladiator II is the sequel to one of the biggest hit movies of the 2000s, and it already has a fanbase: Gladiator won five Oscars in 2000 and grossed $465 million at the box office, according to Box Office Mojo.
Featuring popular actors Gladiator 2, starring Pedro Pascal, Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington, has the potential to be an even bigger success.
Meanwhile, “Wicked” is the first in a two-part film adaptation from director Jon M. Chu (“Crazy Rich Asians,” “Step Up 2 Street”) of one of the most famous musicals of all time, which Variety reported last year has grossed more than $5 billion worldwide since its 2003 debut.
It has become harder for non-Disney musicals to sell in theaters, but “Wicked” The star power of Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum and Jonathan Bailey could wow fans.
If “The Wickiator” (“Gladiked”? “Glicked”?) becomes a cultural moment like “Barbenheimer,” it would be a welcome boost for Paramount, Universal and movie theaters after a lackluster summer so far.
ComScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian told Business Insider in an email that the success of “Babenheimer” was “a first of its kind scenario” and is unlikely to be replicated, but the trend likely helped boost awareness of “Wicked” and “Gladiator II,” he said.
“The makers of both films should capitalize on the social media discussion and excitement that this important pre-Thanksgiving multiplex showdown is generating in the movie market,” Dergarabedian said. “There’s really no downside to doing something like this.”
Promoting these films as a double feature could also help them compete with another highly anticipated film, “Moana 2,” due for release on November 27th.
Either way, the double feature will need to clear the $2 billion hurdle to replicate the success of “Barbenheimer.”
