Ariana Grande, left, and Cynthia Erivo in "Wicked: For Good."

Movie theaters couldn't be happier as the new "Wicked" brings some magic back to the 2025 box office.

"Wicked: For Good," the second film in the two-part movie adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, made its debut with a strong $150 million in North America this weekend, according to estimates from Comscore.

The haul surpasses the $112.5 million domestic launch of the original "Wicked" movie, meaning "For Good" has set a new record for biggest opening weekend ever for a film based on a Broadway show. The record was previously held by the first "Wicked."

"Wicked: For Good" also snagged the second-biggest opening weekend of the year in North America. It came in a bit below "A Minecraft Movie," which opened with $162.7 million in April, but above "Lilo & Stitch," which took in $146 million in its first three days of release. The Disney live-action remake hit theaters over the long Memorial Day weekend and debuted with $182.6 million, including Monday grosses.

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande reprise their Oscar-nominated roles of Elphaba and Glinda, respectively, in "For Good," which picks up where the Broadway show's second act starts and wraps up the characters' stories while tying into the events of "The Wizard of Oz."

Critics were generally more mixed on "For Good" than the first "Wicked," but audience reception appears to be comparable to the original. Moviegoers polled by CinemaScore gave "Wicked: For Good" an average grade of A, the same rating as 2024's "Wicked."

The film's success gives theaters the giant hit they were waiting for after a fairly quiet fall movie season. In recent months, several titles have performed below expectations, from the Bruce Springsteen biopic "Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere" to Disney's latest "Tron" sequel "Tron: Ares."

Prior to "For Good," the last movie to open with more than $100 million at the North American box office was "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" in July.

But movie theaters won't have to wait long for more blockbusters, with the sequel to the animated smash hit "Zootopia" set to open Nov. 26 for Thanksgiving weekend, almost a decade after the original Disney movie grossed more than $1 billion globally. That will be followed soon after by the highly anticipated "Avatar: Fire and Ash," James Cameron's second sequel to the highest-grossing film of all time, 2009's "Avatar."

Though another direct "Wicked" sequel isn't expected, the cast may still have one last stage where they can say goodbye to the two films: the 2026 Oscars. The first "Wicked" received 10 nominations at the Academy Awards, and since "For Good" features two new original songs that are eligible for awards consideration, it could surpass that number.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Wicked: For Good' has a bigger opening than all but one movie in 2025

Reporting by Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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