Universal is pulling back the curtain on its numbers for the PVOD release of their hit musical WICKED. The film, which debuted on VOD and digital platforms on December 31st, 2024, earned $70M in its first seven days of release. In its first day alone, the film pulled in $26M in PVOD sales and rentals.

That number adds up to the biggest PVOD release for the studio ever, besting the previous record holder, The Super Mario Bros Movie. That film earned $44M in its first week of PVOD release in 2023.

The film continues to thrive in theaters. It’s still playing on nearly 3000 screens and to date has earned $453M dollars at the domestic box-office since its launch in theaters on November 22nd. It has earned $16M in theaters since its PVOD debut.

Universal has been at the forefront of the collapsed theatrical window strategy, with many of its titles arriving on digital after 18 days in theaters. It’s notable that they’ve shown more flexibility for their 2024 titles. Wicked enjoyed a 39-day theatrical window, and their current hit, Nosferatu, looks like its unlikely to launch on PVOD next week. The Robert Eggers helmed film is currently Focus Features’s fourth highest grossing film of all time, behind only Coraline, Downton Abbey, and Brokeback Mountain. It launched in theaters on Christmas Day, and if Focus did their usual 18-day window, it would arrive on PVOD on Tuesday, January 14th. That doesn’t look likely (though you never know!).

It’s interesting to get some concrete numbers from the studio. We’ve never been big fans of the collapsed windows, but have figured the studios wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t lucrative. These numbers seem to bear that out. Another thing to note: Universal takes a larger percentage of the digital and VOD gross from retailers than it does from theaters. The studio also owns digital retailer Fandango at Home (formerly Vudu), so it doesn’t have to share any percentage of the revenue from that platform.

We’re estimating Wicked will be available for reduced-price rental in early February, and then make its Peacock debut in March. The 4k/Blu-ray/DVD will be available starting February 4th. Pre-order below.

Or, if you prefer the digital version, order from Amazon here:

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