With the Trailer Out, When Will You Be Able to Stream ‘Wicked’? What Service Will It Be Available On?
Since the film is being produced and distributed by Universal, which streamer it will land on is easy to answer; when, however, is more complicated.
Did you hear a distinctive call coming from the western skies on Wednesday? If so, it might have been caused by the release of the thrillifying trailer for the upcoming film adaptations of the hit Broadway musical “Wicked.” Directed by Jon M. Chu, the iconic musical will be broken up into two films, with the first will be released on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, the day before Thanksgiving. Starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, the film’s trailer already has the internet buzzing and while the musical’s legions of fans will undoubtedly show up to see the film in theaters, you might already be wondering when you will be able to stream Erivo’s “Defying Gravity” on repeat at home. Fortunately, we here at The Streamable are experts at predicting streaming releases and will dive into all of the determining factors before making a prediction.
Key Details:
- The first of a two-part film adaptation of the iconic Broadway musical will arrive in theaters on Nov. 27, 2024.
- NBCUniversal will likely look to capitalize on awards buzz before moving “Wicked” to streaming in 2025.
- The second half of “Wicked” will hit cinemas on Thanksgiving in 2025.
What Is Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo’s Movie ‘Wicked’ About?
The musical version of “Wicked” is itself an adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.” It builds out a new reality in which the Wicked Witch of the West that we know from the original Frank L. Baum novel “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” and the iconic MGM “The Wizard of Oz” movie is actually a misunderstood hero who is the victim of a manipulative charlatan in the Emerald City. The musical was written by legendary composer Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, the latter of whom wrote the screenplay.
Tony, Grammy, and Emmy winner Erivo plays the green-skinned Elphaba (her name an amalgamation of the original author’s) and Grammy-winning pop superstar Grande plays her rival-turned-best-friend Galinda (the “ah” is silent). Joining them in the film is “Bridgerton” star Jonathan Bailey as their mutual love interest Fiyero, Oscar-winner Michelle Yeoh as their university headmistress Madame Morrible, the legendary Jeff Goldblum as the Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Tomy-nominee Ethan Slater as a munchkin in love Galinda named Boq, along with Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Keala Settle, and Peter Dinklage as the voice of Doctor Dillamond, a goat who serves as a history professor at Shiz University.
Check Out the Trailer for ‘Wicked’:
When and Where Will ‘Wicked’ Be Available to Stream?
The first of the two “Wicked” films will arrive in movie theaters on Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024; “Wicked: Part Two” is slated to debut on Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2025. Maguire’s novel was originally optioned by Universal Pictures, but instead of immediately adapting the book into a film, it was sent down the musical route. The film studio was one of the original producers of the Broadway blockbuster along with the company’s former president Marc Platt.
Therefore, unsurprisingly, both of the new films are being distributed by Universal, meaning that when they officially arrive on streaming, they will be on Peacock. While that is a foregone conclusion, determining when they will be available to stream requires a different sort of calculus.
“Wicked” is one of the major tentpoles of Universal’s 2024 film slate, along with “Kung Fu Panda 4” (released in March), “Despicable Me 4” (coming out in July), and “Gladiator II,” which releases in theaters the week before “Wicked.”
For a long time, Universal would move all of its films from cinemas to streaming in almost exactly 45 days. The strategy was designed to increase attention on Peacock as it looked to build a substantive subscriber base. However, recently, the bigger the film, the longer it has taken for the studio to move it to the service. Instead, the movies have not only been staying in theaters longer but also have been living on premium video-on-demand (PVOD) platforms for longer as well. This allows viewers to digitally rent or buy the movie while it is still in theaters so that they can watch it at home.
By utilizing this model, the studios can increase the revenue a film generates at the box office and via digital before putting it on streaming. However, how long this period lasts depends on the individual movie and its genre. So far this year, NBCUniversal waited 91 days to move its horror film “Night Swim” to Peacock following its theatrical premiere; the only 2024 Universal film to hit streaming thus far other than “Argylle” which was co-produced by Apple, which means that it is streaming on Apple TV+. However, the most recent Universal family-focused films to find their way to the platform were “Trolls Band Together” and “Migration,” both of which arrived on streaming 119 days after hitting theaters late last year.
If “Wicked” follows this model, that would mean that it would be available to stream sometime around the week of Wednesday, March 26, 2025. However, that doesn’t seem likely given that Universal’s animated films — which both the Trolls franchise and “Migration” are — have different windowing deals than live-action movies. Thanks to a 2021 agreement with Netflix, Universal animated films will stream on Peacock for four months before moving to the world's largest streamer. With this deal in mind, Universal is far more likely to keep its animated movies in theaters and on PVOD longer in order to increase its revenue generation before starting the clock on the process of moving them to Netflix.
So, even if “Wicked” is the box office success that Broadway fans and NBCU hope that it will be, it likely won’t take four months to arrive in Peacock. This year’s Best Picture Oscar winner “Oppenheimer” did take 210 days to land on Peacock, but that included multiple return theatrical engagements meant to gin up enthusiasm for awards season after its initial summer release. Since “Wicked” will premiere in theaters far closer to the end of the year than Christopher Nolan’s epic was, it won’t need as many extensions to be front of mind for awards nominators and voters. However, that doesn’t mean that we should discount the Academy Awards altogether.
If the hype around the movie musical ends up being justified, there will likely be awards hype for “Wicked” in 2025. So, with the Oscars taking place on Sunday, March 2, 2025, NBCU would likely want to capitalize on the buzz and get the movie in front of a streaming audience beforehand. Therefore, The Streamable’s expert estimation is that the first of Universal’s two “Wicked” films will arrive on Peacock on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. A Valentine’s Day release would be a perfect way to capitalize on the romantic storylines of the film while also riding the wave of awards chatter. “Oppenheimer” landed on Peacock on Friday, Feb. 16 of this year, so the timing would make sense from a strategic standpoint as well.
Peacock
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