When Jon M. Chu set out to complete the Wicked saga with Wicked: For Good, he wasn’t just finishing a story—he was attempting something that had rarely succeeded in cinema before. Taking a Broadway phenomenon and splitting it across two films is risky business, but what happened when the second chapter premiered on November 19, 2025, proved that audiences were genuinely invested in seeing Elphaba and Glinda’s journey through to its emotional conclusion.
The film didn’t just meet expectations; it shattered them, grossing $522.5 million worldwide against its $150 million budget—a testament to how thoroughly Chu’s first installment had captured something special about Stephen Schwartz’s beloved musical.
The numbers tell part of the story, but they don’t capture the whole picture. Yes, For Good opened to a record-breaking $150 million domestically, setting a new benchmark for Broadway musical adaptations. But what’s more telling is that audiences kept coming back.
The film sustained its momentum because it delivered something increasingly rare in blockbuster filmmaking: genuine emotional stakes and character depth wrapped in spectacular production values. This is a film that understood its source material deeply enough to know when to expand on it and when to honor the theatrical roots that made people love Wicked in the first place.
“You will be changed.” That wasn’t just marketing hyperbole—it was a promise the film actually kept.
At its core, For Good succeeded because of the collaborative vision that Chu brought to bear. Working with studios Universal Pictures, Marc Platt Productions, and dentsu, he assembled a team that understood both the grandeur of cinema and the intimacy of musical theater.
The 2 hour 17 minute runtime never felt bloated; instead, it allowed breathing room for the character arcs that make the Wicked story transcendent. Without that time, the emotional payoffs wouldn’t have landed with the force they did.
The performances anchored everything. Cynthia Erivo reprised her role as Elphaba with a ferocity and vulnerability that made her journey toward becoming the Wicked Witch feel inevitable yet tragic. She’s a powerhouse vocalist and actress who commands attention in every scene, bringing layers to a character that could have been one-dimensional in less capable hands.
Ariana Grande as Glinda brought something different—a comic sparkle paired with genuine warmth that made the friendship at the heart of the story feel earned rather than assumed. And Jeff Goldblum—casting him as the Wizard was inspired, bringing his signature eccentricity to a role that required both menace and vulnerability.
The supporting cast expanded the emotional palette considerably:
- Michael Cordova’s portrayal of Fiyero gave the love triangle actual stakes rather than just melodrama
- Michelle Yeoh brought gravitas to every scene she inhabited
- The ensemble work elevated the musical numbers beyond simple spectacle into genuine storytelling moments
- Chemistry between leads felt organic, built on two films’ worth of trust and collaboration
What’s fascinating about For Good is how it navigated the tricky business of adaptation. Broadway and film are different mediums, and Chu understood that you can’t simply photograph a stage production and call it cinema.
Yet the film retained what made the musical work: the soaring melodies, the clever wordplay, the thematic depth about morality and perception. The production design created a world that felt lived-in rather than artificial, grounding the fantasy elements in emotional reality.
Critics gave the film a 6.7/10, which represents an interesting tension in how we evaluate these projects. Those scores tell you that For Good wasn’t universally praised as a masterpiece, and that’s fair—it’s a sprawling film with certain structural choices that won’t appeal to everyone.
Yet that same critical perspective misses how the film connected with audiences on a visceral level. Box office records and audience longevity often tell truths that immediate critical consensus can’t fully capture.
Here’s what the numbers actually reveal about For Good‘s impact:
- Record-breaking opening demonstrated unprecedented appetite for quality musical cinema
- Sustained box office performance showed audiences valued the complete story, not just opening weekend novelty
- Global appeal proved that Wicked‘s themes transcended cultural boundaries
- Long theatrical run indicated the film had “legs”—people weren’t just curious, they wanted to experience it again
The real legacy of Wicked: For Good lies in what it proved possible. For years, studios were hesitant about musical adaptations, treating them as niche products for devoted fans. This film demonstrated that when you invest genuine care, cast talent, and directorial vision into the form, audiences respond en masse. It’s changed the calculus for how studios think about bringing stage musicals to screen.
Beyond the spreadsheets and statistics, For Good matters because it captured something about transformation and friendship that resonates across demographics. The story asks difficult questions about identity, morality, and how history gets written by victors.
These aren’t light themes, yet the film wrapped them in joy and spectacle without diminishing their weight. That balance—between entertainment and substance—is increasingly rare in blockbuster cinema.
Cynthia Erivo’s final moments as Elphaba, Jeff Goldblum’s Wizard facing consequences, Ariana Grande’s Glinda confronting what friendship costs—these aren’t scenes designed to maximize merchandising opportunities. They’re moments of genuine human drama, elevated by music and craft. That’s what separates memorable cinema from forgettable spectacle.
Wicked: For Good will likely endure because it respected both its source material and its audience’s intelligence. It’s a film that understands why people fell in love with Wicked in the first place, then gave them reasons to fall in love with it all over again.
