Highest-grossing movie based on a stage show

The highest-grossing movie based on a stage show is Wicked (USA, 2024), which had taken $697,615,000 (£573,430,108) at the global box office as of 13 January 2025, according to The Numbers.

The origins of the Wicked film (and the stage show) lie in a novel by Gregory Maguire called Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (1995), which was in turn inspired by the 1900 children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, penned by American author L Frank Baum and its own big-screen adaptation: the 1939 cinema classic The Wizard of Oz (USA), starring Judy Garland. Maguire's novel was adapted for Broadway by composer Stephen Schwartz and screenwriter Winnie Holzman, and officially opened in October 2003 at the Gershwin Theatre in New York, USA, where it has consistently run since. Wicked opened at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in London, UK, in September 2006 and has also been a fixture there ever since.

The 2024 film, directed by Jon M Chu, stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba Thropp (aka the Wicked Witch of The West), and Ariana Grande as Glinda Upland (aka Glinda the Good). It explores how the characters met each other while studying at Shiz University and travelled together to the Emerald City to meet the Wizard of Oz (Jeff Goldblum).

The sequel, Wicked: For Good, is set to be released in November 2025.

The previous record holder was Mamma Mia! (2008) – based on the ABBA-themed stage musical of the same name – which grossed $584,481,736 (£366.5 m) at cinemas worldwide.