It’s not surprising that Wicked, already the U.S. box office’s highest-grossing movie based on a Broadway musical, is very nearly topping the album charts, too.
Currently sitting at the #2 spot on Billboard‘s Top Album Sales in the Soundtracks and Vinyl Album charts, the Wicked soundtrack debuted as a record breaker. According to Deadline, “the Universal Pictures, Verve Records, and Republic Records soundtrack to Part One of the movie musical was kept from the #1 spot on the chart (dated Dec. 7) by the debut of Kendrick Lamar’s surprise album GNX, which marks his fifth consecutive chart-topper.” But hey we think Kendrick Lamar’s muuuustaaaaard looks good with Ariana Grande’s Pink and Cynthia Erivo’s Green.
According to Deadline, reporting off Billboard’s figures, “Wicked had the largest debut sales week for a stage-to-screen musical film since Dreamgirls,” which was released in 2006, and “the last time a stage-to-screen musical soundtrack debuted in the top five was when Chicago hit No. 4 on the February 1, 2003 , peaking at No. 2 a week later. The last stage-to-screen movie musical soundtrack to eventually reach the top two was Les Misérables, which spent a week at No. 1 on the January 19, 2013, chart.”
Other wins by Wicked‘s soundtrack include it having launched “with 139,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending November 28—the biggest week for a full-length theatrical film soundtrack since Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s A Star Is Born earned 143,000 units in its second week;” Wicked has multiple bops (“Popular,” “Dancing Through Life,” “Defying Gravity”) that seem likely to further propel its success. The songs have also generated digital streams with “67.66 million” hits, which is not only huge for a soundtrack but “the largest streaming week ever for a stage-to-screen musical film soundtrack.”
On top of that, “of Wicked’s opening-week sum, album sales comprise 85,000,” with Wicked soundtrack vinyl sales representing nearly 39,000 copies. Long live physical media!
Wicked is now in theaters, with Wicked Part Two arriving November 21, 2025. You can find the Wicked soundtrack with all its available collectible releases here, but we are left wanting to know one thing: where’s the Mondo release?
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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