The musical adaptation Wicked and action epic Gladiator II racked up a combined US$270.2 million (S$362.8 million) in global ticket sales over the weekend, a gift to cinemas heading into what may be a record-setting holiday season.
The robust box office returns provided reassurance to Hollywood, which has weathered cost-cutting and layoffs amid forecasts of the death of cinema as consumers gravitated to streaming video services.
“Moviegoers and box office pundits have been waiting for this weekend, and no one is disappointed,” said Chris Aronson, president of distribution for Paramount Pictures.
Wicked, the first of two Universal Pictures films based on a Broadway prequel to The Wizard of Oz, topped the domestic and global box office. It pulled in US$114 million at US and Canadian theatres, plus US$50.2 million in international markets, for a global total of US$164.2 million.
