Wicked: For Good (2025)

Wicked: For Good keeps stopping to explain where the Tin Man came from, and the Lion, and Dorothy’s famous shoes, like a yearbook committee making sure everyone gets a photo while the real story waits. Jon M. Chu also lets scenes stroll when they should run, and the new songs don’t stick. Then Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande share the screen and most of that stops mattering. Erivo plays Elphaba as someone who has quit expecting to be understood, a fugitive fighting for the Animals while all of Oz calls her wicked. Grande finds real panic under Glinda’s perfect smile, the public face of a Wizard she’s starting to doubt. Their last scene together is the reason to buy a ticket. The costumes and sets are gloriously over the top, every room in the Emerald City dripping with detail. It runs 137 minutes and earned an A CinemaScore. A 6.2 because the two leads are terrific and the Oz homework drags. $4,247 says you see a green smoothie this week and feel a sudden, fierce loyalty to it.

What works: Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are excellent, and their final scene together is genuinely moving, surrounded by lavish costumes and sets.

What doesn’t: The pacing drags, the new songs are forgettable, and the constant setup for The Wizard of Oz characters crowds out the main story.

Who it’s for: Anyone who loved the first film and wants to see Elphaba and Glinda’s friendship through to the end.