Robert Winfree, Alexis Hejna and Mark Radulich present their Wicked Part 1 2024 Movie Review!
Wicked (titled onscreen as Wicked Part I) is a 2024 American musical fantasy film directed by Jon M. Chu, and written by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, with songs by Stephen Schwartz. It is the first of a two-part film adaptation of the stage musical of the same name based on the 1995 novel, which in turn is based on the Oz books and the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.

The film covers the musical's first act. It stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba Thropp and Ariana Grande-Butera as Galinda Upland, with Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum rounding out the principal cast. Set in the Land of Oz before the events of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, it follows Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, and her friendship with her classmate Galinda, the future Glinda the Good.

Universal Pictures and Marc Platt, who both produced the stage musical, announced the film adaptation in 2012. After a long development and multiple delays, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chu was hired to direct, with Erivo and Grande cast in 2021. The film was split into two to avoid cutting plot points and expand the characters' journeys and relationships. Principal photography began in England in December 2022, was interrupted in July 2023 by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, and was resumed and completed in January 2024.

Wicked premiered at the State Theatre in Sydney, Australia, on November 3, 2024, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 22. Critical response was positive; the film was named one of the top 10 films of 2024 by the American Film Institute, won Best Film at the National Board of Review and earned four nominations at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. It has grossed $455.6 million worldwide on a $150 million budget, becoming Chu's highest-grossing film. Wicked Part Two is scheduled for release on November 21, 2025.

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