While ‘Barbenheimer’ is probably a phenomenon that will never repeat itself, it seems like there’s potential for a similar trend at the end of the year. With Universal’s ‘Wicked’ moving its premiere date to November 22, the same day that ‘Gladiator II,’ distributed by Paramount, is opening, social media users are already hyping up a potential double feature.
The musical is now landing in theaters five days ahead of schedule. According to experts, the change of date likely took place to avoid competing with another musical movie which could appeal to the same audience, Disney’s ‘Moana 2.’
However, now it will compete against Ridley Scott’s historical epic, but with, presumably, much less overlap in the audience. That’s on paper, of course. Because, judging from the reaction on social media, there’s a potential group between millennials and gen-zers that would love to see both films during the same weekend.
‘Gladiator II’ and ‘Wicked’: A double feature for the girls
Do girls want to think about the Roman Empire? Maybe not, but they definitely want to watch Oscar-nominated actor Paul Mescal, who has become not only a critically acclaimed star, but also a certified “Internet Boyfriend.” And that’s not taking into consideration that Pedro Pascal, another actor who has been lusted after on social media, is also part of the cast.
Meanwhile, ‘Wicked,’ directed by Jon M. Chu, on paper, is for theater kids, especially with Cynthia Erivo’s casting as Elphaba. However, Ariana Grande’s star power and Jonathan Bailey’s global fame from ‘Bridgerton’ will definitely bring people to the theater. At least, that is what we expect. Here’s the best memes of the potential double feature:
Can ‘Wicked’ and ‘Gladiator II’ gross a billion at the box office? It seems unlikely, especially as another big films like ‘Dune II’ and ‘Furiosa’ (which was a dissapointment commercially) couldn’t do it. However, this year, there’s already a film that has surpassed the mark, Pixar’s ‘Inside Out 2.’