The remarkable box office success of “Wicked” has spilled over into its first week of release on premium on-demand (PVOD), as Universal announced on Thursday that Jon M. Chu’s musical has earned a studio record $70 million from its first week on home platforms.
Released on New Year’s Eve for $20 to rent and $30 to own, “Wicked” earned $26 million in just its first 24 hours of availability. It then blew past the previous first week PVOD studio record of $44 million set by “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” in 2023.
Universal’s current PVOD release model was created in 2020 as part of an agreement made with AMC and other top theater chains following the studio’s decision to release “Trolls: World Tour” on home platforms as theaters closed during the pandemic.