‘Wicked’ Conjures Magical Opening, ‘Gladiator II’ Shows Staying Power at U.K., Ireland Box Office

Universal’s screen adaptation of “Wicked” dominated the U.K. and Ireland box office with a commanding ￡13.7 million ($17.2 million) debut, according to numbers from Comscore.

The musical fantasy leads a robust frame that saw Paramount’s “Gladiator II” maintain strong momentum in its sophomore session with ￡4.7 million, pushing its cumulative total to ￡18.4 million.

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Studiocanal’s “Paddington in Peru” continues to demonstrate impressive holds in its third weekend, collecting ￡4.2 million for a running total of ￡24.5 million. Warner Bros.’ “Red One” secured fourth position with ￡866,764, bringing its three-week total to ￡5.9 million.

Entertainment Film Distributors’ “Heretic” rounded out the top five with ￡205,457, accumulating ￡5.4 million over four weeks. Universal’s “The Wild Robot” placed sixth with ￡183,578 (￡13.5 million total), while Lionsgate U.K.’s “Small Things Like These” ranked seventh with ￡166,803 (￡3.5 million total).

Trafalgar Releasing’s Metropolitan Opera presentation of “Tosca” debuted in eighth place with ￡129,206, followed by Polish holiday entry “Listy Do M. 6” from Magnetes Pictures, which opened with ￡123,448. Sony Pictures’ “Venom: The Last Dance” completed the top 10 with ￡122,165, bringing its five-week cume to ￡12.2 million.

Coming up, the holiday season heats up with Disney’s “Moana 2” leading the Nov. 29 slate. Edward Berger’s awards season contender “Conclave,” featuring Ralph Fiennes, Stanley Tucci, John Lithgow and Isabella Rossellini, will open in over 300 locations through Vue Entertainment.

Caroline Lindy’s “Your Monster,” starring Melissa Barrera and Tommy Dewey, is set for limited release in under 25 locations. BFI Distribution presents Payal Kapadia’s Cannes Grand Prix winner “All We Imagine as Light,” featuring Kani Kusruti and Divya Prabha.

Warner Bros.’ 20th anniversary 4K restoration of Robert Zemeckis’ “The Polar Express,” starring Tom Hanks, will screen in over 100 locations. Smaller releases include Chloe Abrahams’ documentary “The Taste of Mango” from Conic and Clair Titley’s “The Contestant,” from MetFilm, both targeting select venues.

The Rolling Stones concert film “Welcome to Shepherd’s Bush” arrives Nov. 28 through Vue Entertainment. Netflix is theatrically distributing animated feature “That Christmas” from director Simon Otto, while AX1 Entertainment’s “Power Alley,” Evrit Films Productions’ “Two of a Kind,” and Dogwoof’s “Made in Ethiopia” round out the week’s releases.

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