‘Wicked’ first screening has rave reviews: “What a fantastic movie, the ultimate crowd-pleaser of 2024”

19 November, 2024

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo

The first European screening of Wicked took place in London last night (November 18) and the reactions have been overwhelmingly positive.

Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Jeff Goldblum were among the cast to brave the rainy weather as the capital’s South Bank was transformed into the Emerald City.

The film, an adaptation of the stage musical which tells the origin story of the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz, is set to be released in both the UK and the US this Friday (November 22).

Reacting to the movie, resource editor for Collider, Nate Richard wrote: “I was not looking forward to Wicked. I’m not typically a fan at all of Ariana Grande. I walked in thinking I’d be proven right. I was wrong. What a fantastic movie. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are phenomenal. The ultimate crowd-pleaser of 2024. I’m not joking.”

Rotten Tomatoes critic, Peter Gray agreed. “Wicked (Part One) is an absolute treat! Cynthia Erivo’s stunning emotional depth and Ariana Grande’s award-worthy brilliance shine. The vibrant, thrilling visuals captivate, promising a treat for theatre fans – though the necessity of its split remains unclear until Part Two,” he said.

CBR critic Ashley Saunders also described the movie as “visually stunning”.

She added: “WICKED is visually stunning as it transports you to the magic of Oz. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo make the parts their own, with a great chemistry as they musically spar. Fun surprises, beautiful costumes, it’s sure to defy gravity & be a massive hit.”

Elsewhere, Gabay Jonathan singled out Ariana Grande’s performance and said he was “blown away by the entire movie”.

“Ariana Grande was not cast in Wicked She was BORN to be in Wicked Absolutely blown away by the entire movie. Very rare that a movie exceeds the hype,” he continued.

You can read more reactions below:

After the global domination of ‘Barbenheimer’ in the summer of 2023, film fans are looking forward to the phenomenon of ‘Glicked’ when Wicked goes up against Gladiator 2 in the US later this week.

Both movies are set to take the box office by storm in the coming days when they are simultaneously released much like Barbie and Oppenheimer last year.

According to Deadline, Jon M. Chu’s Wicked and Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2 are set to pull in huge takings on their openings with the former expected to pull in over $80million (£62.8million) and the latter $65million (£51million) domestically.

Wicked is also expected to be popular with women while Gladiator 2 is set to pull in men and also older women.

The post ‘Wicked’ first screening has rave reviews: “What a fantastic movie, the ultimate crowd-pleaser of 2024” appeared first on NME.