One of the Greatest Fantasy Blockbusters Ever Made Just Got Overtaken by ‘Wicked: For Good’ at the Box Office

After nearly a month of release, Universal’s Wicked: For Good has overtaken several past hits at the box office. The fantasy musical sequel was released exactly a year after the first Wicked film broke box office records to gross $475 million domestically, and earned 10 Oscar nods. Both movies were directed by Jon M. Chu, with the second debuting to somewhat underwhelming critical response as compared to the first. Over the course of its run, Wicked 2 has overtaken every film in the blockbuster Twilight Saga, and has now passed all but one installment of the Harry Potter franchise. Most recently, the film overtook the $317 million lifetime domestic haul of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, the film that started it all.

Released in 2001 and directed by Chris Columbus, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone grossed over $1 billion at the global box office including revenue from re-releases. It’s only one of two Harry Potter movies to hit this coveted milestone, the other being Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, which made $1.3 billion. Deathly Hallows – Part 1 is also the top-grossing Harry Potter movie domestically, with a lifetime haul of $334 million. Wicked 2 will probably overtake it by the end of its run, although the chances of it matching its predecessor’s performance seem bleak at this stage. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone introduced Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson as the central trio, who’d go on to play the characters for a decade.

The franchise is now being rebooted for television by HBO, with the first season currently in production. Fans have been promised an even more faithful adaptation of controversial author J.K. Rowling‘s generation-defining book series. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was widely acclaimed, and is now sitting at a “certified fresh” 80% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the consensus reads, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone adapts its source material faithfully while condensing the novel’s overstuffed narrative into an involving – and often downright exciting – big-screen magical caper.”

‘Wicked: For Good’ Opened to Slightly Muted Critical Response

By comparison, Wicked 2 holds a 67% score on RT, which happens to be considerably lower than the 88% that the first Wicked film scored. Globally, Wicked 2 is on the verge of passing the $500 million milestone. The first film made more than $700 million globally, and earned Oscar nods for its two leads, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. It remains to be seen if the sequel will be as successful during the awards season.

You can watch Wicked: For Good in theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.