One of the most popular movies of 2024, is now available on streaming. (Sorry, I had a chance to make a “Popular” pun, and I took it. Hopefully you’re not loathing me right now, okay okay I’ll stop.)
Wicked, the blockbuster adaptation of (one-half of) the hit Broadway musical, is now available on Peacock. The streaming service has actually made the film available in two different versions; the standard theatrical cut as well as Wicked: Sing-Along which features the lyrics to the show’s onscreen and also includes an introduction from the film’s stars, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.
The film arrives on streaming after a very successful run in theaters. All told, Wicked earned $473.2 million in U.S. theaters, plus another $266 million abroad, making it the fifth-biggest blockbuster of 2024 — and the #1 film of the year that wasn’t a sequel. (The other top-grossing titles of the year, in order, were Inside Out 2, Deadpool & Wolverine, Moana 2, and Despicable Me 4.)
READ MORE: Two Wicked Obsessed Kids Review the Wicked Movie
The movie, which remains extremely faithful to the Broadway show, is a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, and imagines the early years and friendship of two of its witches, Glinda the Good (Erivo) and the Wicked Witch of the West (Erivo), who is depicted as a misunderstood outcast named Elphaba.
The film only adapts the Broadway show’s first act, and it is a little frustrating to only get half the story. Still, as I wrote in my review, the material that is in the movie is adapted with a lot of visual and technical flair, and the performers are absolutely first-rate…
The entire production proceeds in careful harmony. The sets by production designer Nathan Crowley are grand and beautiful; bigger and better than anything you can see on Broadway. (Fiyero’s mission statement of a number, “Dancing Through Life,” gets a relocated to an elaborate library filled with bookshelves shaped like massive spinning drums, which are utilized for some truly impressive flips, spins, and slides.) The choreography by Christopher Scott takes advantage of the nimble camerawork and the massive ensemble of dancers. And director Jon M. Chu captures all that movement with a variety of different camera tricks and techniques. (The comic two-hander “Loathing” is filled with clever split screens; “One Short Day” deploys a series of long-take POV shots to tour the elaborate Emerald City set and its dancing denizens.) It’s a beautiful production that honors the popular stage musical and blows it up to a blockbuster budget.
Both the regular and sing-along versions of Wicked are streaming now on Peacock. The second half of the film, Wicked: For Good, is scheduled to open in theaters on November 21.
Live-Action Movies Would Make Great Animated Films
An animated remake of a live-action movie? Someone should try it.