‘Wicked’ Soundtrack Debuts At No. 2 On Billboard 200 Chart, Making History For Broadway-To-Film Adaptations
Wicked has another sales record to add to its growing list: The film soundtrack has debuted at the #2 spot on the Billboard 200 chart, the highest debut for a big-screen adaptation of a stage musical ever.
The Universal Pictures, Verve Records and Republic Records soundtrack to Part One of the movie musical was kept from the #1 spot on the chart (dated Dec. 7) by the debut of Kendrick Lamar’s surprise album GNX, which marks his fifth consecutive chart-topper.
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In addition to the #2 spot on the 200 Chart, Wicked took the top spot on Billboard’s Top Album Sales, Soundtracks and Vinyl Albums charts.
The Wicked film was released November 22, and over the Thanksgiving weekend became the highest grossing Broadway-musical-based movie ever at the domestic box office. By Sunday, the running total of the Jon M. Chu-directed movie was $263.1M.
The film, based on the Broadway musical that’s been playing since 2003, stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.
According to Billboard, the last time a stage-to-screen musical soundtrack debuted in the top five was when Chicago hit No. 4 on the February 1, 2003, peaking at No. 2 a week later. The last stage-to-screen movie musical soundtrack to eventually reach the top two was Les Miserables, which spent a week at No. 1 on the January 19, 2013, chart. Wicked had the largest debut sales week for a stage-to-screen musical film since Dreamgirls opened with 92,000 according to the Dec. 23, 2006, chart.
RELATED: Jon M. Chu’s ‘Wicked’ Soundtrack: What Songs Are In ‘Part 1’?
Other Wicked soundtrack facts, per Billboard:
Among all soundtracks in 2024, Wicked is the second to reach the top 10 for the first time, and the highest charting, following Twisters (No. 7 peak) in August;
Wicked launches with 139,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending November 28 – the biggest week for a full-length theatrical film soundtrack since Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born earned 143,000 units in its second week (October 17, 2018, chart);
Wicked also logs the biggest week for any stage-to-screen musical soundtrack since the Billboard 200 began ranking titles by equivalent album units in December 2014 (the biggest movie musical soundtrack debut of the decade);
Of Wicked’s opening-week sum, album sales comprise 85,000 (vinyl sales represent nearly 39,000 copies);
With 67.66 million streams (52,000 SEA Units) generated by its songs, Wicked has 2024’s biggest streaming week for any soundtrack, and the largest streaming week ever for a stage-to-screen musical film soundtrack.
Buzz around the Wicked film has had a beneficial impact on the 21-year-old Broadway production in recent months, sending the perennially popular stage musical to the top of the Broadway grosses chart week after week. For the Broadway week ending November 26, Wicked‘s weekly gross was $2,560,160, besting new shows and stalwarts alike.
And while the Broadway League’s official grosses for the lucrative, tourist-heavy Thanksgiving Week won’t be available until tomorrow, early indications are that the figures will include some big numbers. Figures trickling in show The Outsiders having its best week ever at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, setting a new house record with $1.8M, while Cabaret took a $350K jump over the previous week for a $1.2M gross and Chicago beat its own 2023 Thanksgiving record with a 2024 take of $901,498.
Should be very interesting to see what kind of holiday Broadway’s Wicked had.
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