Wicked · reception & legacy

How Wicked has been received, argued over, and remembered.

The arc

Greeted with two years of skepticism — a two-part split of a stage musical, dodgy-looking trailers — it landed in late 2024 as a genuine event, out-grossing every stage-to-screen musical adaptation before it and riding a wave of good will to ten Oscar nominations. With the second half now out, the consensus has largely settled that Part One caught lightning the sequel couldn't quite rebottle.

What's debated

The forever-fight is the color grading — is the desaturated, grey-green look a crime against a story that's literally about pink and green, or does it read fine on a big screen? — with the two-part split a close second.

Its footprint

Its press tour became a meme factory all its own, crowned by a journalist telling Ariana Grande she was 'holding space' for the lyrics of Defying Gravity — a phrase the internet has never put down. Add the pink-and-green brand-collab blitz and the Grande/Erivo tearful-interview edits, and the film's marketing era is nearly as discussed as the film.

Where it stands

A crowd-pleaser more than a critics' darling on Letterboxd — the modern blockbuster musical people actually showed up for, and the movie that made Grande and Erivo a beloved cinematic double act.

Named by the director

Influences Jon M. Chu has publicly named — the director's own word, distinct from the inferred lines of influence.

• The Wizard of Oz (1939) — Chu spoke openly about honoring the 1939 film, threading deliberate visual homages to it throughout his Oz.