The Academy has Glenda and Elphaba saying ‘we’re not within the Oscars anymore’ after ‘Depraved: For Good’ was snubbed final week, with the field workplace hit sequel failing to safe a single nomination.
Comcast (CMCSA), who personal NBC/Common and are answerable for ‘Depraved: For Good,’ may take this as a slap within the face, on condition that its predecessor ‘Depraved’ racked up 10 nominations (together with Finest Image, Finest Actress, and Finest Supporting Actress ‘noms) and two wins (Finest Costumes, Finest Manufacturing Design) on the 2024 Oscars.
That’s, except they foresaw that the Land of Oz-set sequel can be a field workplace smash hit and, uh, let’s say not so properly regarded by critics. Therefore why they divided the Depraved musical’s story in two, reaping untold (presumably billions) in extra earnings. An affordable idea, and in my estimation seemingly the reality (I’ve solely been protecting the 2025 This autumn blockbusters’ arms race the entire method). However – and it’s a massive however – there’s extra to this story.
An nameless Academy voter has spoken out, claiming it was Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s headline and meme-producing promotional tour that turned voters off:
“I was also just completely turned off by their promotional performances,” the nameless voter instructed NewsNation. “They creeped a lot of people out and in their rush to feel authentic, came off as cosplaying.”
My in-depth learn on the supply’s claims, in addition to what this implies for the way forward for the Depraved-verse and Common’s place amongst Disney (DIS), Warner Bros. (WBD), and different field workplace foes, follows.
Actresses Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande might have aliented some Oscar voters with their attention-getting antics.
KENA BETANCUR/AFP by way of Getty Photos
Why the Oscars snubbed ‘Depraved: For Good’
‘Depraved: For Good’ obtained zero nominations on the Oscars regardless of being up for a number of Golden Globes. This snub by critics ran opposite to the movie’s success on the precise field workplace, the place it raked in a 30% bigger home opening than ‘Depraved’ (2024).
Associated: ‘Depraved: For Good’ field workplace shocks Disney, critics
Due to this field workplace brilliance, Comcast/NBC/Common Studios is probably going largely unbothered by the chilly shoulder. The success of each movies, which mixed to earn over $1.3 billion in worldwide gross, laid the groundwork for future Oz-verse properties within the coming years. Michael Moses, Common Studios CMO, underlined this in a current interview with Vulture:
Heard, Mr. Moses – however the snub and unfavourable crucial response, each for the on-screen product and past, are value analyzing as they’ll blockbuster technique going ahead.
For the on-screen product, critics have cited sequel fatigue, an absence of memorable songs, and a plotline that stored the 2 leads (performed by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo) aside as elements as to why the Movement Image Academy determined to wholly cross on ‘Depraved: For Good’.
Then, there are the theories and rumors circulating in regards to the sequel’s oddball press tour.
‘Depraved: For Good’ press tour errors
“The movie wasn’t that good and (Erivo and Grande) sucked the air out of any red carpet they were on — and no one wanted to go through that again,” the anonymous Academy member continued per Paula Froelich of The Scoop. “Think of it this way: We were protecting Ariana from her anxiety — and Cynthia from having to intervene. Again.”
The source was referring to Grande and Erivo’s now-internet-famous press tour behavior. From the origin of the ‘holding space’ meme, to lengthy discussions of each other’s auras, to several moments where Erivo came to Grande’s aide when Grande was suffering from anxiety in front of the press core, to silly/misinterpreted interview moments like their fear and dramatic response to a helicopter, the Wicked promotional tour was viral gold, enough so to deserve its own Buzzfeed rundown of the 17 most memorable moments.
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What a time to be alive. The takeaway for future blockbusters, even at the Disney or Universal level, is the need for their stars to not take themselves too seriously. It’s a small thing, but leasing audiences on all fronts will be a must in a crucial 2026 for big studios (and movie theaters, period).
‘Wicked: For Good’ opening, domestic box office numbers
‘Wicked: For Good’ blew expectations away when it came to its opening box office, exceeded expectations domestically (6th overall), and performed reasonably at the international box office, with its relative success diminishing in that order.
Internationally, the Wicked sequel’s success was overshadowed by Disney’s two big-budget sequels, ‘Zootopia 2’ and ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’, both of which particularly resonated with international audiences (respective coverage linked).
Final Worldwide Box Office 2025
Rank
Title
Worldwide
Domestic
International
1
Ne Zha 2
$2,259,822,417
$23,308,176
$2,236,514,241
2
Zootopia 2
$1,744,832,777
$401,522,485
$1,343,310,292
3
Avatar: Fire and Ash
$1,378,713,774
$378,512,590
$1,000,201,184
4
Lilo & Stitch
$1,038,027,526
$423,778,855
$614,248,671
5
A Minecraft Movie
$958,287,780
$424,087,780
$534,200,000
12
Wicked: For Good
$526,406,215
$342,845,335
$183,560,880
As you can see, when you add it all up ‘Wicked: For Good’ made a dent but didn’t rake in the massive international profits that buoyed Disney’s top three to their massive worldwide earnings (Ne Zha 2, the Chinese animated hit, beat all U.S. comers in international markets on the back of its staggering Chinese numbers).
That said, ‘Wicked: For Good’s opening box office was quite impressive, setting the tone for a competitive holiday season. To quote my opening weekend coverage:
“Surprisingly, the second and closing a part of the Broadway musical-inspired movie sensation even managed to outperform the primary, because the Wall Avenue Journal studies.
“The U.S and Canada whole of $150 million, one of many largest home openings of the yr… Final yr the primary ‘Wicked’ opened to $112.5 million domestically on the identical pre-Thanksgiving weekend,” per The Wall Street Journal.
That’s no small feat, given that the film industry limped through Q3 (and Q4). My biggest takeaways: 1) The rest of the holiday slate is now under even greater pressure, and 2) blockbuster success strengthens NBCU’s sports-focused pole position.”
The primary level ended up coming true, with Disney’s choices rising to the problem. The second – properly, we are going to see as NBC rolls into 2026 with a robust sports activities schedule (The Winter Olympics, Premier League, and the NBA protection are coming down the pike).
If Common Studios needs to maintain swinging with Disney, it will need to preserve the hits coming. Doable, if they’ll preserve their film stars from being too too additional.
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