Glinda leaning her head on Elphaba in close-up in Wicked For Good
By
Alex Harrison
Published 25 minutes ago
Alex is the Senior Movies Editor, managing the New Movies team, as well as one of ScreenRant's Rotten Tomatoes-approved critics. After graduating from Brown University with a B.A. in English, he spent a locked-down year in Scotland completing a Master's in Film Studies from the University of Edinburgh, which he hears is a nice, lively city. He now lives in and works from Milan, Italy, conveniently a short train ride from the Venice Film Festival, which he first covered for SR in 2024.
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From when it was announced, the decision to split Jon M. Chu's big-screen adaptation of Wicked into two movies has sparked debate. At the macro level, it smacked of a Hollywood trend that sprung up after Harry Potter split its final book into two films, a decision so lucrative that seemingly every franchise finale followed suit. Audiences have grown so tired of this that projects greenlit when it was fashionable have tried to hide their multi-part status in their marketing (the first Wicked included).
As a choice for this specific project, it also seemed questionable. Did a stage musical that runs under three hours (including its intermission) really need six hours to be told on the big screen? Was it really smart to cut off Act I, which includes much of the most-acclaimed music and ends with the musical's best-known song, from Act II?
Though the movie has its detractors, Wicked: Part One was enough to give doubters pause. It was well-received by critics and audiences alike, turning its box-office success into ten nominations at the 2025 Oscars, tied for second-most; the filmmakers were clearly onto something here. People were willing to withhold judgment until the second film came out, with many speculating that Chu would take more swings with his adaptation to address the weaknesses historically associated with the second half of the musical.
Now that Wicked: For Good has released, the debate seems fully reignited. Critical reception is weaker for this film than its predecessor: 71% on Rotten Tomatoes and 58 on Metacritic, compared to Wicked's 88% and 73, respectively. Aside from a couple new songs and story beats, it's largely faithful to the source material, warts and all. Was the two-movie split really the best choice?
For me, even with some room for critique, the answer is clearly yes.
Assessing Wicked's Split Requires Looking Beyond Art vs. Commerce
Glinda in full Glinda the Good garb looking up with a concerned expression in Wicked For Good
There's no doubt Universal is pleased with their decision. The first Wicked was a box office hit, especially domestically, where both the musical and The Wizard of Oz have the strongest cultural hold. Per Deadline, Wicked: For Good has opened even stronger: $150 million domestic and $226 million global, compared to the first movie's $112 million domestic and $164 million global. It remains to be seen whether Part Two can repeat Part One's spectacular hold over Thanksgiving weekend, but with another A CinemaScore, word-of-mouth will be just as strong. In all likelihood, splitting the release will end up doubling the grosses.
But commercial needs aren't to be confused with artistic ones, and Wicked naysayers will argue the filmmakers privileged the former at the expense of the latter. There's merit to that argument. I have little doubt that Wicked could have been made into one, good film, with changes made to suit the story's new format. I admire courageous adaptations that treat their source texts more like inspiration than a recipe to be slavishly recreated, and while I like Wicked: For Good, I did question the purpose of separating Act II if not to take it in a different direction.
However, I also think the extended runtime was necessary to build Elphaba and Glinda's relationship to where it needs to be. The connection between these characters (and the emotionality with which Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande perform it) is Wicked's greatest strength, and the relative weakness of Act II stems in part from their prolonged separation. Combining the two films risks diluting the throughline that ultimately makes the second half of the story worthwhile.
In the end, the artistic merits of the split depend on one's experience, and hashing out those differences is part of what makes criticism worthwhile. But, in this case, I think the debate risks losing sight of the bigger picture.
The place of movies in mainstream culture is changing. In a world where getting people into movie theaters is more challenging than ever, Hollywood has recognized it needs to "eventize" its tentpoles for them to break through – but if the Barbenheimer phenomenon taught us anything, it's that audiences ultimately decide which films are and are not events. Studios can have all the pre-established IP money can buy, but if viewers sense anything about the movie is off, they just won't go see it.
Sometimes, though, they just need a little convincing. The two-part gambit is risky – why spend the time seeing a "Part One" in theaters when you can just wait for both parts to be streaming? – which is why studios try to hide it in promo material. But the result is something different than just making a hit movie and developing a sequel from scratch. If viewers like what they see and spread the word, they'll become invested in this story reaching its conclusion. By the time Part Two rolls around, it'll be a full-blown moment.
Both Chu and Dune director Denis Villeneuve were open in interviews about their first films being only half the story, but thanks to trailers that conveniently left off the full title card, several audience members only learned this once they were already seated. Even so, both of those films did it right.
Movies have a cultural function that sits somewhere between the artistic and the commercial, and it's this element that makes me less cynical about Wicked: For Good's existence. It's true that, as just one movie, Wicked wouldn't have made as much at the box office. But it also wouldn't have been as big, and the industry needs big movies to keep moviegoing relevant.
9.3/10
8/10
Wicked: For Good
10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed PG Drama Fantasy Romance Release Date November 21, 2025 Runtime 137 Minutes Director Jon M. Chu Writers Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox, Gregory Maguire Producers Marc Platt, David Stone
11 Images
Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) with a thoughtful frown in Wicked: For Good
Glinda (Ariana Grande) smiling in Wicked: For Good
Glinda (Ariana Grande) putting on her crown in Wicked: For Good
Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) playing in a marching band in Wicked: For Good
Glinda (Ariana Grande) walking down the aisle surrounded by yellow butterflies in Wicked: For Good
Fiyero (Jonathan Bailey) and Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) staring into each other’s eyes up close in Wicked: For Good
Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) flying on her broom in Wicked: For Good
Wicked For Good Teaser Thumbnail
Glinda (Ariana Grande) clutching a book to her chest in Wicked: For Good
Glinda (Ariana Grande) floating inside a shimmering bubble in Wicked: For Good
Glinda (Ariana Grande) looking thoughtful in Wicked: For GoodClose
Cast
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Cynthia Erivo
Elphaba
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Ariana Grande
Glinda
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