— Musical adaptation “Wicked” and action epic “Gladiator II” raked in a combined $270.2 million in global ticket sales over the weekend, a bonanza for theaters headed toward a record-setting holiday season.

The strong box office returns provided reassurance to Hollywood, which has faced cost-cutting and layoffs amid forecasts of the death of cinema as consumers gravitate toward streaming video services.

Chris Aronson, distribution president of Paramount Pictures, said, “Moviegoers and box office experts have been waiting for this weekend and no one is disappointed.”

“Wicked,” the first of two films from Universal Pictures based on the Broadway prequel to “The Wizard of Oz,” topped the domestic and global box office. It grossed $114 million in American and Canadian theaters, as well as $50.2 million in international markets, for a global total of $164.2 million.

According to the studio, it was the largest opening weekend for a film based on a Broadway musical since the global debut of Universal’s 2012 release “Les Miserables”.

“Gladiator II” grossed $106 million worldwide, including $55.5 million from domestic sales. The Paramount Pictures film is the sequel to the film that won the Best Picture Oscar two decades ago. The film, which was released outside the US last weekend, grossed $221 million at the box office.

Both films, dubbed “glicked” by fans, grossed $169.5 million in domestic theaters, helping bring the weekend box office to $201.9 million. It is the highest-grossing weekend in North America since “Deadpool & Wolverine” debuted in July, according to comScore.

“Glicked” lagged behind the $245 million debut of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” in July 2023, showing the industry was reeling from the pandemic and writers and actors strike that year.

Still, after the poor box office performance of anticipated fall films like “Joker: Folie a Deux” and “Venom: The Last Dance,” both films gave theaters a much-needed jolt.

The enthusiasm was a positive sign for theater chains like AMC Entertainment, Cineplex and Cinemark, which are awaiting another big release this week, Walt Disney’s animated “Moana 2.”

“This is a tremendous catalyst for strong box office in December and into the new year,” said Michael O’Leary, president and CEO of the National Association of Theater Owners.

Movie ticket sales in the US and Canada have fallen below pre-pandemic levels as theaters grapple with competition from streaming and disruption from last year’s Hollywood strike.

Year-to-date domestic ticket sales fell to $7.3 billion as of Sunday’s data, down 10.6% from the same time in 2023, according to comScore.

Studio and theater owners expect “Moana 2” to lead the strongest Thanksgiving-period sales in history next weekend.

Box office analysts say that by year’s end, ticket sales by Thanksgiving could be the largest in cinema history. A holiday season record of $2.5 billion was set in 2017, led by the “Star Wars” film “The Last Jedi.”

“This is the best news for movie theaters, this series of movies starting with ‘Glicked’ and ‘Moana 2,'” said Paul Dergarabedian, media analyst at comScore.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo star in “Wicked” the story of a misunderstood, green student of magic who becomes the Wicked Witch of the West.

“It’s wrapped in a fairy tale, but the aim is to dig into the real truth,” director Jon M. Chu told Reuters at the film’s premiere in London when asked about the story’s widespread appeal.

Universal, a unit of Comcast, spent approximately $160 million to make the first “Wicked” film, a sum that does not include the millions of dollars spent on marketing everything from Super Bowl advertising to hundreds of “Wicked” products.

In a campaign reminiscent of the uproar over “Barbie,” “Wicked” tie-ins include pink and green drinks at Starbucks, a fashion line at Target and a Betty Crocker cupcake mix.

Jim Orr, president of domestic theatrical distribution for Universal Pictures, said, “This campaign was everywhere. It was absolutely inevitable.” “And on top of all that, we had the hardest-working cast you could have. From a promotion and a marketing standpoint, Cynthia and Ariana were literally everywhere.”

The second “Wicked” film is scheduled to be released in November 2025.

“Gladiator II” stars Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington in a tale of political intrigue that takes place 16 years after the original film.

Other films coming out before the end of the year include Walt Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King,” Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” and Searchlight Pictures’ “A Complete Unknown,” starring Timothée Chalamet as musician Bob Dylan. Has played.

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