Bob Mondello

The first Wicked film made $758 million worldwide, so their combined box office will reach a billion dollars in the next few days.

Bob Mondello, NPR News.

Because The Wizard of Oz is a children's classic in the U.S., Wicked for Good, the second half of the origin story of Good Witch Glinda and Wicked Witch Elphaba, was expected to do well here.

With what looks like a $150 million opening weekend, it's doing very well.

But the story isn't as well known in other countries, so Wicked for Good opening to more than $75 million overseas, even with stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo doing extensive publicity tours, was not a given.

The first Wicked film made $758 million worldwide, so their combined box office will reach a billion dollars in the next few days.

Bob Mondello, NPR News.

Wicked for Good had a very good opening day, $68 million.

But that figure comes with an asterisk.

As with many big films, the studio includes previews in its opening day figure.

Usually that means showings the night before.

But Wicked for Good had previews on Monday in more than a thousand theaters, and then some more on Wednesday before Thursday when a lot of the previews were actually double features with the first Wicked.

That's a serious stretch for an opening day.

Still, any way you slice it, more than 5 million people have already seen Wicked, a number that's expected to more than double by the end of the weekend.

Bob Mondello, NPR News.

Wicked for Good had a very good opening day, $68 million.

But that figure comes with an asterisk.

As with many big films, the studio includes previews in its opening day figure.

Usually, that means showings the night before.

But Wicked for Good had previews on Monday in more than a thousand theaters, and then some more on Wednesday before Thursday, when a lot of the previews were actually double features with the first Wicked.