Can ’Glicked’ compete with ‘Barbenheimer’?

Last year, audiences had “Barbenheimer.”
“Oppenheimer” and “Barbie,” two wildly different movies, both opened on July 21 and brought a surge of viewers to movie theaters, the likes of which we haven’t seen since before the pandemic.
This year, we have “Glicked.”
“Gladiator II” and “Wicked: Part 1″ came to theaters Friday, and some fans are eager to replicate the success of last year’s “Barbenheimer.”
Can “Glicked” hold a candle to “Barbenheimer”? Here’s what you should know.
“Barbenheimer” was a cultural phenomenon — and it absolutely paid off at the box office.
According to ABC News, “Barbenheimer” over-exceeded expectations last July. For that specific box office weekend, “Barbie” was projected to make $90 million and “Oppenheimer,” $40 million.
Together, “Barbenheimer” made a combined $244 million that weekend. Separately, “Barbie” made $155 million, per The Associated Press, and “Oppenheimer” made $80.5 million.
“It was a truly historic weekend and continues the positive box office momentum of 2023,” Michael O’Leary, president and CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners, told the AP at the time. “People recognized that something special was happening and they wanted to be a part of it.”
In total, “Barbenheimer” made a combined $2.4 billion, per ABC News.
We’ll have to wait until next week to see how “Gladiator II” and “Wicked” fare during their opening weekend.
According to Variety, “Wicked” has made a staggering $19.2 million in previews at the box office. The movie also did well at early screenings, making $2.5 million on Monday, $5.7 million on Wednesday and $11 million on Thursday.
By comparison, “Gladiator II” made $6.5 million in previews on Thursday.
“Wicked” is ”expected to be one of the biggest opening weekends of the year,” per Variety, and is projected to make $100 million to $110 million, “with some estimates as high as $130 million.”
“Gladiator II” is expected to make roughly $65 million.
Tom Nunan, the co-head of the Producers Program at the Graduate School of Theater, Film and TV at UCLA, told The New York Times in an email that “’Glicked’ may not be ‘Barbenheimer,’” but that it’s still something to celebrate.
“Both ‘Wicked’ and ‘Gladiator II’ look strong, and even if their combined box office is less than what ‘Barbie’ alone accomplished in one weekend, we shouldn’t see that as a failure,” Nunan said. “As Thanksgiving approaches, their combined strength is certainly something for which we can all be grateful — a good, old-fashioned, holiday weekend cinema extravaganza.”
Both the stars of “Gladiator II” and “Wicked” have expressed their support of “Glicked.”
Jeff Goldblum, who plays the Wizard in “Wicked,” told Deadline, “It’s an abundance mentality world, where there’s enough to go around.”
“Rather than it being in competition, I think they’re in conversation,” Paul Mescal, star of “Gladiator II,” said, per ABC News. “This industry needs a shot in the arm. Those films gave it last year. We hope to do it this year.”