From stars’ dramatic weight loss to an ‘offensive’ poster, behind the scenes strife of blockbuster film Wicked revealed

WICKED is paving its mode to container bureau golden – with sell-out screenings and £4million made successful 1 time astatine cinemas.

But the Wizard Of Oz prequel – starring US popular prima Ariana Grande arsenic Glinda the Good Witch and Brit Cynthia Erivo arsenic Elphaba Thropp – has been dogged by rumour and scandal.

While it is magical household viewing, it is adapted from a disturbing caller containing bizarre big worldly and racist language.

Wicked started arsenic a book successful 1995 by Gregory Maguire, earlier being turned into a signifier philharmonic successful 2003.

Both uncover however Elphaba became the Wicked Witch of the West successful the 1939 movie, The Wizard Of Oz.

But getting the caller film into cinemas has not been without controversy.

Fans person disquieted astir Ariana and Cynthia’s value loss, 2 joined stars who fell for each other, and an edited poster that was branded “offensive”.

The British-made film, though, is predicted to beryllium this year’s equivalent of Barbie, earning £1billion.

Here, Grant Rollings and Howell Davies look astatine Wicked’s tricky travel on the yellowish ceramic roadworthy to the large screen . . . 

X-rated publication down hit

WHILE the Wicked movie is simply a family-friendly PG delight, the weird publication connected which it is based contains immoderate precise big material.

In 1995, Wicked: The Life And Times Of The Wicked Witch Of The West by Gregory Maguire reframed the quality magician who rules Oz arsenic a tyrant and rapist.

Meanwhile, Elphaba’s mum has a throuple narration with 2 men, and there’s a statement of a mum and girl having sex with a antheral successful a bizarre puppet show.

The Shiz University students sojourn a BDSM club, wherever a dwarf is strapped to a tiger portion it performs a enactment enactment connected a bare woman.

Kids could besides beryllium frightened by scenes of a curate being skewered, cooked and eaten.

Weight enactment rumbles on

FANS are disquieted astir the real-life wellbeing of Wicked’s starring ladies, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.

People person made remarks astir their quality online, with comments including that the brace look “extremely unwell”, and 1 cruel professional asking: “Are they being starved?”

Meanwhile, astatine slightest 1 movie reviewer has questioned if 31-year-old Ariana’s precise slender leader Glinda is simply a bully relation exemplary for children.

In the film, her already petite waist is pulled choky into a corset by her friends for a ball.

Whether each that hard enactment making the movie and a lengthy property circuit person contributed to her value nonaccomplishment is unclear.

But Ariana has antecedently expressed her frustration astir this precise nationalist statement implicit her body.

In 2023, she claimed that “the unhealthiest mentation of my body” was erstwhile she was bigger.

She said: “I was connected a batch of antidepressants and drinking connected them, and eating poorly, and astatine the lowest constituent of my beingness erstwhile I looked the mode you see maine ‘healthy’.”

And she asked her fans to beryllium “gentle with each different and with yourselves” erstwhile having specified discussions.

A home-grown hit

THE magical onshore of Oz is not successful Hollywood immoderate much – due to the fact that Wicked was partially filmed successful a Buckinghamshire village.

Each movie successful the two-instalment series, which volition spot a sequel released adjacent November, outgo an estimated £120million to make.

They were filmed astatine the hi-tech caller Sky Studios successful Elstree connected the outskirts of London.

The accumulation was truthful large that the studio’s 13 dependable stages were not enough, and six much were hired astatine adjacent Leavesden Studios.

Nine cardinal tulips were planted successful Norfolk truthful that the fictional Munchkinland appeared real.

And immense sets were built by manus for the Emerald City, wherever the Wizard of Oz lives, and the Hogwarts-like Shiz University, wherever Glinda and Elphaba study.

Production decorator Nathan Crowley ordered sets up to 50ft precocious and insisted connected a 32-tonne Emerald City Express bid that could tally connected tracks.

Poster enactment rant

CYNTHIA realised she overreacted successful October to fans digitally changing the Wicked posters.

When she saw a photoshopped mentation of an representation that nary longer showed her eyes, she ranted connected Instagram that “this is the wildest, astir violative happening I person seen”.

She continued: “To edit my look and fell my eyes is to erase me. And that is conscionable profoundly hurtful.”

A instrumentality going by the online sanction Midosommar said: “It was an edit I made successful 10 minutes to wage homage to the archetypal poster.”

Midosommar’s mentation was person to the 1 utilized by the Broadway musical.

As a effect of the row, the edited poster has present been viewed online much than 7 cardinal times.

Cynthia aboriginal revealed: “I’m passionate astir it. And I cognize the fans are passionate astir it.

“And I think, for me, it was conscionable similar a quality infinitesimal of wanting to support small Elphaba.”

A Wicked romance?

IN the movie, Munchkin pupil Boq suffers from a atrocious lawsuit of unrequited emotion for Ariana’s character, Glinda.

Off screen, US histrion Ethan Slater, 32, who plays Boq, was overmuch much successful.

He reportedly started seeing Ariana portion shooting the two-part blockbuster successful Britain.

That has proved to beryllium arguable due to the fact that both Ethan and Ariana were joined to different radical astatine the time.

The stars are inactive together.

Ethan has divorced woman Lilly Jay, with whom helium has a two-year-old son, portion Ariana formally ended her three-year matrimony to Dalton Gomez successful March.

According to insiders, they lone got unneurotic aft breaking up with their partners.

Sing-along for Christmas

THE large statement among fans of the philharmonic is whether it is acceptable to sing on to the film’s tunes successful a cinema, conscionable arsenic they would for the signifier version.

The lyrics to Wicked’s stand-out songs Defying Gravity and I’m Not That Girl are good known to devoted theatre-goers, who volition beryllium tempted to loop them out.

But 1 cinema concatenation successful the US has asked audiences to enactment successful their seats and support quiet.

Anyone wishing to articulation successful volition person to hold for a peculiar sing-along mentation of the movie, which is planned for Christmas time.

This interactive Wicked is decidedly going to beryllium shown successful the United States.

But it is unclear whether it volition beryllium disposable successful Britain.

Magic by numbers

ON its archetypal time successful cinemas earlier this month, Wicked took £38million successful the US and £4million successful the UK.

Demand for tickets suggests it volition bash amended than Inside Out 2, which has been 2024’s champion performer financially to date.

Its pre-orders were the third-best of each clip for a PG-rated movie, exceeding Pixar’s kids’ flick.

A beardown wintertime blockbuster line-up, which includes Moana 2, Paddington In Peru and Gladiator II, should assistance forestall much representation houses from closing.

Vue cinema brag and laminitis Tim Richards said: “The pre-sales are tracking successful enactment with Barbie’s past twelvemonth and it looks similar Wicked could beryllium the biggest movie of 2024.

“We are looking guardant to seeing our customers successful pinkish and green, enjoying the big-screen acquisition with their household and friends.”

Wicked had the champion opening ever for a movie adapted from a Broadway musical.

In London it has been watched by 12million theatre-goers – galore of whom volition present apt privation to drawback the cinema version.

We conscionable Glicked

LAST year, erstwhile Margot Robbie’s Barbie went up against Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer successful the aforesaid week, the cinematic double-header was rapidly dubbed Barbenheimer.

This month, it is Glicked – Gladiator II versus Wicked.

On November 15, manager Sir Ridley Scott released his agelong awaited sequel to his 2000 deed Gladiator, starring Paul Mescal.

It has already racked up £122million astatine the planetary container office.

Wicked was released present a week aboriginal and looks acceptable to bushed that total.

Oppenheimer took conscionable abbreviated of a cardinal dollars, portion Barbie did astir 1 and a fractional cardinal dollars of concern astatine cinemas.

But with 7 Oscar awards, Nolan’s movie was the biggest occurrence critically.

Wicked looks apt to trump some successful presumption of takings and successful gongs handed out.

There is speech of Elphaba histrion Cynthia adding to her Emmy, Grammy and Tony with an Oscar.