The long awaited screen adaptation of the hit stage show Wicked~2024 has been given a PG age rating in the UK for mild threat, discrimination

The movie stars Cynthia Erivo who has previously been seen in Widows and Luther: The Fallen Sun, it also stars Ariana Grande who has been seen in Dont Look Up and Hairspray Live

After going through many potential directors the movie is directed by Jon M. Chu who has previously helmed Justin Bieber Never Say Never and Crazy Rich Asians.

Movie Synopsis

An aspiring sorcerer finds acceptance at a magical school until higher authorities try to misuse her powers.

BBFC certificate breakdown.

• Title: Wicked~2024
• BBFC age rating: PG Certificate
• Reason: mild threat, discrimination
• Release date: 22nd November 2024
• Runtime: 160 minutes (2 hours 40 minutes)
• The movie is being released into movie theatres
• Directed by:
  • Jon M. Chu
• Starring:
  • Cynthia Erivo
  • Ariana Grande
  • Jonathan Bailey

BBFC movie page

A new poster has been released for upcoming movie Wicked~2024 which can be viewed in full if you scroll down this page.

Movie breakdown

• The movie is directed by Jon M. Chu
• It stars Cynthia Erivo (Pinocchio) and Ariana Grande (Hairspray Live!) among others.
• The movie also stars Jonathan Bailey, Marissa Bode and Ethan Slater
• The release date in the UK is 24th November 2024
• While the North American release date is set for 27th November 2024
• Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande appeared together in Wicked Part 2
• Jon M. Chu directed Ariana Grande in Jem and the Holograms

Synopsis for Wicked

An unlikely friendship emerges between Elphaba and Glinda, two clashing witches in the magical land of Oz. Elphaba is wrongfully cast as a wicked witch as she seeks to expose the fraudulent, corrupt Wizard who rules the land.

Check out the Salty Popcorn movie page for more information on this upcoming film.

Last weekend Barbie was at the top of the North American box office, there are 8 new releases this weekend, will any of them top the US box office this weekend?

Check out other new releases from around the world.

• Meg 2: The Trench
• Passages
• Corner Office
• Dreamin' Wild
• Mob Land
• Til Death Do Us Part
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
• The Hiding Place

Meg 2: The Trench

• The movie is directed by Ben Wheatley, it is the directors 12th movie.
• Ben Wheatley also directed Kill List in 2011.
• It stars Jason Statham who also starred in Hummingbird (2013).
• The film also stars Cliff Curtis who was last seen in True Spirit (2023).
• Jason Statham and Cliff Curtis have starred in 2 other movies together.
• They also appeared together in Fast & Furious Presents Hobbs and Shaw in 2019 and The Meg in 2018.
• This movie is released in movie theatres.
• The MPAA age rating is

Passages

• The movie is directed by Ira Sachs, it is the directors 11th movie.
• Ira Sachs also directed Vaudeville in 1992.
• It stars Franz Rogowski who also starred in Victoria (2016).
• The film also stars Ben Whishaw who was last seen in Women Talking (2022).
• This movie is released in movie theatres on limited release.
• The MPAA age rating is

Corner Office

• The movie is from director Joachim Back.
• This movie is a directorial debut.
• It stars Jon Hamm who also starred in Keeping Up With the Joneses (2016).
• The film also stars Danny Pudi who was last seen in Somebody I Used to Know (2023).
• This movie is released in movie theatres.
• The MPAA age rating is

Dreamin' Wild

• The movie is directed by Bill Pohlad, it is the directors 2nd movie.
• Bill Pohlad also directed Love and Mercy in 2015.
• It stars Walton Goggins who also starred in The Hateful Eight (2015).
• The film also stars Casey Affleck who was last seen in Oppenheimer (2023).
• This movie is released in movie theatres.
• The MPAA age rating is

Mob Land

• The movie is from director Nicholas Maggio.
• This movie is a directorial debut.
• It stars John Travolta who also starred in Hairspray (2007).
• The film also stars Donald Ome who was last seen in Pain Hustlers (2023).
• This movie is released in movie theatres on limited release.

Til Death Do Us Part

• The movie is directed by Timothy Woodward Jr., it is the directors 3rd movie.
• Timothy Woodward Jr. also directed Traded in 2016.
• It stars Cam Gigandet who also starred in The Experiment (2010).
• The film also stars Jason Patric who was last seen in Shrapnel (2023).
• They also appeared together in Shrapnel in 2023.
• Timothy Woodward Jr. directed Jason Patric in Gangster Land
• This movie is released in movie theatres.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

• The movie is directed by Jeff Rowe and Kyler Spears, it is the directors 2nd movie.
• Jeff Rowe and Kyler Spears also directed The Mitchells Vs. the Machines in 2021.
• It stars Ayo Edebiri who also starred in Hello, Goodbye and Everything In Between (2022).
• The film also stars Rose Byrne who was last seen in Insidious: The Red Door (2023).
• This movie is released in movie theatres.
• The MPAA age rating is

The Hiding Place

• The movie is from director Laura Matula.
• This movie is a directorial debut.
• It stars Nan Gurley who also starred in The Hiding Place (2023).
• The film also stars John Schuck who was last seen in Santa Bootcamp (2022).
• This movie is released in movie theatres.

Check back on Monday to see what new movies made it onto the Weekend Box Office Chart.

Next week there are 7 new movies released

• Dragonkeeper - Thursday, 10th August
• The Last Voyage of Demeter - Friday, 11th August
• Heart of Stone - Friday, 11th August - streaming
• Go West - Wednesday, 19th July
• Jules - Friday, 11th August
• The Pod Generation - Friday, 11th August
• Medusa Deluxe - Friday, 11th August

Absolutely no surprise at all that The Dark Knight Rises is the biggest film of the week, and the £14 Million debut weekend is as expected.

The tragedy that took place in America on Thursday night at a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises does not seem to have affected the box office over here with a weekend take of £ 14,362,443 it is very close to to 2008's The Dark Knight which opened just north of £11 million. The best opener of the year is still Avengers Assemble nearly £16 Million.

With the release of the new Batman film there were no other new films this week but last weeks top film Ice Age Continental Drift still does the numbers and has a weekend of £ 2,112,021.

This time last year Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was still at the top having taken £ 44,271,997 in 2 weeks while Pixars Cars 2 was the top new release with £3,541,664 at 2.

Five years ago Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was still at the top with a total gross of £30,062,094 after 2 weeks and the remake of John Walters Hairspray was the highest new film at 2 with £2,045,912.

Ten years ago Scooby Doo was still top with a gross of £9,420,817 and with the top 2 staying the same the highest new film was Stuart Little 2 at 3 with a take of £1,343,398.

Like many films before it Star Wars is being adapted for the stage, although rather than an all singing, all dancing stage play like Billy Elliot or Hairspray, this is more a celebration of the music of John Williams.

The production which has been co-written by Williams and LucasFilms staff will be a two hour journey through the six film saga showing edited highlights from the films along with props and consumes from the films.

Titled Star Wars: A Musical Journey the stage show will open at The O2 Arena (formally the Millennium Dome) next April, with tickets going on sale on Monday, read the BBC news story here or visit The O2 Arena site for more info.