The highly anticipated Wicked sequel, Wicked: For Good, is finally out a year after the first film was released. Its release over the opening weekend was a huge success. It hit #1 at the global box office and made $150 million domestically and $223-$226 million worldwide. It was the second-highest opening weekend of 2025 behind the Minecraft movie, and it was the biggest global opening for a Broadway musical adaptation ever. With all of the good numbers and ratings, I wanted to share my opinion since I’m very fortunate to have seen the musical on Broadway, as well as both movies.
At the beginning of the new film, we see that Elphaba is now labeled the ‘Wicked Witch of the West’ and Glinda as the “Good Witch” and is now a celebrity in Oz. Scared that the news might get out soon, the Wizard of Oz is controlling more of the animals in Oz and Elphaba is trying to free the animals. In the first movie, we learn that Fiyero is in love with Elphaba and is on the front lines trying to get to her first so that no one can hurt her.
My favorite songs “No Good Deed,” “As Long As You’re Mine,” and “For Good” from the musical are very well performed and also included in the live action movie. The chemistry between Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo is amazing and has been discussed at length all throughout the press tour and online. But the chemistry they have while singing “For Good” together is off the charts! You really feel the emotion from each side and see two best friends that are sad they won’t see each other again, but happy they got to know each other. They realize that “they have been changed for good.” “No Good Deed” was also such an amazing performance from Cynthia Erivo. She reveals a more raw side to Elphaba and shows her breaking point about almost losing Fieryo. Another one of my favorites is “As Long As You’re Mine.” This is one of the most talked about songs from this movie and for good reason. Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Bailey have great chemistry between their characters as they show vulnerability and passion during this very intimate moment.
Another part that I really enjoyed was the reveal at the very end of the movie having to do with Fiyero and Elpaha’s love story. I liked how they kept the secret pretty well hidden and it’s a great surprise at the end of the movie. When I saw the reveal the first time I saw the musical on Broadway, I was very much in shock at this ending. As I looked around the movie theater, I could see many others around me were also very surprised at the conclusion of this love story.
Some parts of the movie I didn’t enjoy as much as others. The reveal about the Tin Man and the Scarecrow are not explained as well as they did in the musical. I feel like the reveal was a little too rushed. For all of the new information we are getting between all of the characters, the viewer barely gets to experience the emotional weight of the story. In this second film, the arcs of the characters are not as well developed. There are so many new plot lines and it all just seems very rushed.
In conclusion, I think that both Wicked movies are good. I do think that the first Wicked movie is better than the second one. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo did such a great job portraying their characters and you can see all the emotion they put into their roles. While I still think seeing Wicked on Broadway is the best way to experience this amazing production, the movies do a great job telling the story and explaining the crossover from The Wizard of Oz.