Gladiator II vs Wicked: Reviews and memes as heavyweight films battle it out at the box office

Both movies are monopolising multiplexes and indie establishments connected the backmost of reddish carpet appearances and gossip-laden interviews.

While the conflict is ongoing, determination tin lone beryllium 1 winner. Here’s however the 2 person compared successful each elements.

Both films being released person fixed a pre-Christmas boost to the movie manufacture arsenic a whole.

Fans lined up to drawback a glimpse of the highly anticipated films, successful what was a blockbuster play of cinema tickets being sold.

Combined, the films amassed $270million successful worldwide summons sales, making it 1 of the busiest movie-watching weekends of 2024.

Gladiator II, a sequel to his 2000 champion picture-winning archetypal from Paramount Pictures, has been retired longer, but the big-budget philharmonic Wicked, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, debuted with $114m successful the US and $164.2m globally for Universal Pictures.

The estimated figures, released by Universal, would marque it the third-biggest opening play of the year, aft Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2. It’s besides a grounds for a Broadway philharmonic adaptation.

In the UK and Ireland, Wicked brought successful £13.7m successful the opening weekend, the champion opening play of 2024, portion Gladiator II took successful £8.8m.

Both films person been highly anticipated releases, and some due to the fact that of their history.

Wicked is simply a philharmonic adaptation, and galore fans were wondering if it would unrecorded up to the show, positive the hype that has travel from a large fund and large names starring.

The aforesaid could beryllium said for Gladiator II. Starring Denzel Washington, galore wondered if the 2nd movie would lucifer the popularity of the first.

Film critics person been speedy to get their opinions retired connected Ridley Scott’s long-awaited sequel. Our reviewer, Nick Curtis, gave Gladiator II 4 stars and said, that contempt immoderate humanities inaccuracies, it was casual to place the issues to bask the plot.

“Gladiator II is stirring, gung-ho stuff, and it each looks ravishing, from the aerial views of Rome to the crunching enactment scenes,” Curtis writes.

He added: “Mescal exudes charisma and testosterone, particularly erstwhile rocking a gladiator’s mini-skirted tunic. Ridley Scott, we salute you.”

He said: “This is simply a sequel that isn’t acrophobic to get its hands soiled – it delivers the keynote scenes and moments for the fanbase (which is each of us) and the all-important gladiator setpieces person the close hallucinatory quality, arsenic a oversea conflict is reenacted successful the flooded arena oregon a immense rhino gets its scaly backside kicked.”

But different reviews weren’t arsenic certain, with The Spectator saying they weren’t definite if it was meant to beryllium a comedy, portion The Times gave it conscionable 2 stars and said starring antheral Paul Mescal enactment the “meh” into the film, adding that they were “disappointed”.

Reviews from critics regarding Wicked person besides been flooding successful aft a blockbuster opening weekend.

The bulk praised the performances of the main stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. The Standard’s Nick Curtis gave it 3 retired of 4 stars, highlighting that Jon M Chu’s “lavish cinematic adaptation won’t disappoint” but refrains from giving it the afloat 5 stars for reasons including the film’s length.

He said: “It’s a visually ravishing, emotionally freighted conveyance for the prodigious vocal and sizeable acting talents of Cynthia Erivo arsenic the shunned, green-skinned Elphaba and Ariana Grande arsenic the vacuously beauteous Glinda.”

But not each were fans, including the BBC, who said the movie failed to “defy gravity”, labelling it “self-important and drawn out”. Their reappraisal read: “It doesn't instrumentality flight. It doesn't person the terrific jokes, the startling twists oregon the stunning creation routines that mightiness person formed a spell connected you, and it's weighed down by under-developed subplots and under-used supporting characters.”

The greenish carpet for the adaptation of the signifier deed was rolled retired each implicit the satellite successful the pb up to the merchandise of Wicked.

All of the erstwhile signifier amusement stars turned up for the premiere, arsenic good arsenic a big of A-list celebrities and world TV stars, including the Kardashians.

But it was not conscionable the accepted premieres which captured the attraction of mundane people.

He finished his acceptable by announcing: “Wicked comes retired successful theatres Friday, November 22.”

Wicked is everyplace close now, from trending Christmas presents to retired successful the open. Greenwich Market has been adorned successful the benignant of the Emerald City and rechristened ‘Green Witch’; and Greenwich Town itself has been scattered with themed signs that tin beryllium tracked down via its ain dedicated walking trail.

But Gladiator II was besides a talking constituent successful the pb up to its release, with the stars adjacent gathering King Charles.

There was much property erstwhile Saoirse Ronan she spoke astir women’s information during an quality connected The Graham Norton Show.

Eddie Redmayne besides appeared connected the amusement and recalled being taught however to usage his compartment telephone arsenic a limb to jab an attacker successful the cervix for a role, to which Gladiator prima Paul Mescal replied: “Who is really going to deliberation astir that? If idiosyncratic really attacked me, I’m not going to spell ‘phone’.”

“That’s what girls person to deliberation astir each the time,” Ronan past chimed in, arsenic some Redmayne and Mescal fell silent.

The remark past went viral, with galore applauding the prima for highlighting the issue.

Both films person seen immoderate contention successful the pb up to release.

Speaking astatine the Hollywood premiere of the film, Scott said: “They ne'er did. They acted the infinitesimal – it didn’t happen.”

The connection comes aft 69-year-old Washington, who plays a bisexual enslaved trader successful the film, claimed past period successful an interrogation with Gayety: “I really kissed a antheral successful the movie but they took it out, they chopped it, I deliberation they got chicken. I kissed a feline afloat connected the lips and I conjecture they weren’t acceptable for that yet.”

But helium appeared to backpedal astatine the premiere. He referred to the alleged country arsenic a “peck” connected the lips, adding: “It truly is overmuch ado astir nothing. They’re making much of it than it was. I kissed him connected his hands, I gave him a peck and I killed him.”

Wicked pb Cynthia Erivo besides was forced to code disapproval implicit a fan-edited Wicked poster which she labelled 'hurtful'.

The poster features Erivo, 37, wearing a achromatic hat, her agelong acheronian hairsbreadth draped implicit her shoulder, and greenish lipstick to lucifer her greenish skin, portion Ariana Grande, 32, whispers successful her ear, wearing a tiara.

Fans of the philharmonic past took to societal media to stock their edited versions of the film’s poster aft its release, adjusting Elphaba’s chapeau and adding bold reddish lipstick to marque it lucifer the archetypal Broadway artwork.

However, the instrumentality edit didn’t spell down good with Erivo, who took to Instagram with a scathing onslaught connected fans: “This is the wildest, astir violative happening I person seen, adjacent to that atrocious AI of america fighting, adjacent to radical posing the question ‘is your p***y green’.

She added it was “degrading” to fell her eyes, which she was utilizing to pass with the audience.

Fans did their champion to marque Glicked a happening connected societal media, and attempted to harvester the 2 films.

A bid of memes made their mode online.

And different memes did not disappoint:

There tin lone beryllium 1 winner...

It was a adjacent 1 to prime but judging by the numbers astatine the container office, and each of the hype astir the movie from celebs and fans alike, we would person to crown Wicked arsenic the winner.

With the movie having had 20 years perpetually successful the minds of fans with the long-running theatre show, the movie adaptation conscionable narrowly defeats Gladiator II the popularity stakes.