This weekend’s box office was a one-sided affair dominated by Wicked: For Good, a musical juggernaut that flattened the field. Rental Family stepped in with a quiet debut; Now You See Me: Now You Don’t and Predator: Badlands clung to their positions; and The Running Man tried to keep pace.

Wicked: For Good Delivers a Spellbinding First Place Debut

Wicked For Good

Wicked: For Good stormed into theatres with a thunderous $150.0 million opening. That is an enormous launch for any genre, and a spectacular one for a musical. Love it or not, the franchise remains a towering cultural force, and audiences clearly showed up ready to belt their hearts out. The studio will celebrate for weeks because this haul is the kind of number you circle on a fiscal calendar with a glitter pen.

Wicked: For Good Soars to an Emotional, Spellbinding Conclusion

Some predicted softening interest given sequel fatigue, but that doubt evaporated the moment the Friday numbers hit. Big musicals succeed when they feel like an event and this one absolutely qualifies.

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t Slips but Still Shows Strength

In its second week, Lionsgate’s Now You See Me: Now You Don’t conjured another $9.1 million. The fall is noticeable, although hardly catastrophic. This franchise has always operated like a reliable mid-tier entertainer rather than a world breaker, and that remains true here. It still has a certain charm; audiences like feeling clever even when the plot twists are held together with the cinematic equivalent of chewing gum.

The drop suggests it will soon exit the top three, but it has pulled enough money already that no one at the studio is panicking. It performs like a crowd pleaser that knows what it is and refuses to apologize for it.

Predator: Badlands Continues Its Gritty Grind

Predator: Badlands brought in $6.3 million in its third week and continues to behave exactly like a healthy genre sequel. The hold is decent; the fanbase is loyal; and the creature feature energy remains strong enough to keep it from falling off a cliff. It is not setting records, but it is proving stable in a way that makes accountants smile and marketing teams breathe easier.

The Running Man Slows After a Promising Start

Week two brought $5.8 million for The Running Man. The decline is sharper than its boosters would like, although not shocking. The initial curiosity has cooled and the conversation around it has been strangely muted. It is neither a total flameout nor a breakout which leaves it floating in that awkward purgatory where box office futures go to contemplate their choices.

Rental Family Finds a Humble Niche in Its First Week

Debuting with $3.3 million, Rental Family enters the market quietly but with enough presence to avoid being forgotten by Monday morning. Smaller dramas often rely on slow burn word of mouth and this one will need exactly that. It faces stiff competition from louder genre offerings, yet its premise gives it a shot at carving out an audience that appreciates intimacy over spectacle.

Whether it grows or vanishes depends entirely on weekday chatter, because this opening alone will not carry it far.

Next Weekend’s Predictions

Zootopia 2 charges into the box office with tracking between $102 million and $122 million. A debut around $110 million feels like the safest call. The real tension sits in whether it snatches first place from Wicked: For Good. If the musical slips fifty percent or more, the animals take the crown. The wrinkle is that both films are chasing overlapping audiences, so the race may come down to which fandom feels more determined to show up twice.

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is aiming much lower with tracking between $10 million and $15 million. A realistic estimate lands near $11 million. The series has a loyal following, but general audiences know it will hit Netflix soon. The theatrical run is mostly for people who enjoy watching Rian Johnson’s puzzles on a big screen rather than on a couch. It will not challenge the top two, but it will pull in a respectable crowd of cinephiles who appreciate the experience.

As always, we’ll check in next week.

For more on Movies, stay tuned to That Hashtag Show.

Keep Reading:

The Ten Best Movie Musicals Ever