The review embargo has lifted on one of the last remaining Oscar hopefuls: “Wicked: For Good.” Jon M. Chu’s sequel to his 2024 blockbuster hit has been screening over the past few weeks, and the verdict is … polite.
The reviews are just not as good as the original. That’s just a fact. Wicked fans will maybe eat it up, but where does that leave the rest of us? A 60 on Metacritic and 71% on Rotten Tomatoes is nothing to write home about. The first instalment had a 73 on MC and 88% on RT. That’s a major downgrade.
Who saw this coming? Chu became a hot commodity in Hollywood after the first film’s success. Before that, he was primarily known as the filmmaker behind “Crazy Rich Asians,” “In the Heights,” “Now You See Me 2,” “Jem and the Holograms,” “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” and — gulp — “Step Up 2: The Streets.”
My best guess is that “Wicked: For Good” is going to fight it out for that tenth Best Picture slot, but it could very well not make it. Most of the reviews point towards Ariana Grande being a standout, but she might miss a nomination. Jon M. Chu will once again be snubbed in Best Director. Forget about Cynthia Erivo.
It’s not like these reviews will deter its box office. There are too many Wicked fans out there — current estimates project a $130M+ domestic opening. Earlier in the month, “Wicked: For Good” became Fandango’s best first-day ticket pre-seller of 2025. The film will be making boatloads of cash, and that’s great news for exhibitors, who will be coming off a disastrous October that barely gave them any blockbuster hits.
Part of the film’s advantage is logistical genius. Both installments were shot back-to-back in late 2022, giving Universal a major budget win and allowing the finale to ride the hype of last year’s film. Chu explained that while shooting, it became clear they couldn’t compress the story into a single movie without doing “real damage” to the source material.
The film stars Grande and Cynthia Erivo, with Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Jeff Goldblum, and Michelle Yeoh in supporting roles. It’s an adaptation of Holzman and Schwartz’s ultra-popular Broadway musical of the same name, which draws on characters from “The Wizard of Oz.”
“Wicked: For Good” will be released on November 21, 2025.
Criterion's December lineup has some great additions to the library, but the title that jumped out at me is Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," which officially joins the Collection on December 8.