Musicals aren’t the most successful genre at the box office (see: “Cats,” “Dear Evan Hansen” and “Joker: Folie à Deux”). But song-and-dance films may be enjoying — as Glinda sings — a newfound popularity with “Wicked,” Universal’s adaptation of Act One of the beloved Broadway show.

The film collected $114 million in North America and an additional $50.2 million internationally, bringing its global tally to $165 million over the weekend. It’s a huge win for movie theaters (ticket sales have been stubbornly behind 2023 and pre-pandemic times) and Universal (since the studio has to sell “Wicked: Part Two,” chronicling the musical’s second act, to audiences in 2025). Each installment cost $150 million to produce, not including its inescapable pink-and-green marketing campaign. So “Wicked” needs to resonate at the global box office through Thanksgiving of next year to justify these mega price tags. Then “thank goodness,” as Glinda also sings in the show, that critical reviews and audience sentiment have been euphoric.

Jon M. Chu directed the PG “Wicked,” which stars Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh and Jonathan Bailey. Set before during and after “The Wizard of Oz,” the story tells the origins of Grande’s Glinda (later known as Glinda the Good), Erivo’s Elphaba (eventually dubbed the Wicked Witch of the West) before Dorothy landed in Oz and sauntered down the Yellow Brick Road. 

Here’s all the records from opening weekend:

Domestic

International

Global