Wicked fans are begging movie-goers to stop doing these two things in screenings
People are convinced movie theater etiquette is dead following Wicked’s opening weekend.
Director John M Chu’s film adaption of the hit Broadway musical Wicked — starring Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba — hit theaters this past weekend (November 22), prompting many fans to sell out showtimes at their local cinemas worldwide.
However, those who didn’t buy tickets for the movie musical’s opening weekend have likely already seen several sneak peeks and full scenes on social media.
Across TikTok, Instagram, and X/Twitter, pictures and videos of Wicked are being posted from inside the theater, spoiling some of the movie’s best moments. Scenes from fan favorite numbers such as “Defying Gravity” and “Popular” have flooded timelines and For You Pages, sparking outrage among the fans who haven’t been to the cinema yet.
On X/Twitter, one person shared a photo of the opening credits and asked others to “show ur ‘wicked part 1’ photos.” The post quickly received more than 18.4 million views and 2,100 comments, prompting a debate over movie theater etiquette.
Several fans slammed the individual for encouraging others to share spoilers, as one person said: “This is SO illegal.”
“Disgraceful thread. Have some respect for the people in the same cinema as you,” another added.
“Theater etiquette is dead,” a third commented, while a fourth wrote: “It’s people like you that ruin cinema experiences.”
Even Alamo Drafthouse, a popular chain of dinner theater cinemas, commented from its official X/Twitter account: “Or, don’t do that.”
Despite pleas from fans to stop ruining the movie, many people continued to post pictures and videos throughout the two-hour and 40-minute long film.
Before Wicked’s release, some theaters issued a reminder to fans that singing is not permitted unless the screening is a sing-along version. “At AMC Theaters, silence is golden. No talking. No texting. No singing. No wailing. No Flirting. And absolutely no name-calling. Enjoy the magic of movies,” a short, Wicked-themed preshow advisory video said.
According to USA Today, Wicked: Part One brought in $114 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters within the first weekend. The first part of the Universal Pictures film grossed $50.2 million in international markets, for a combined global total of $164.2 million.
However, the double premiere of Wicked and Gladiator 2failed to surpass the success of Barbenheimer — last summer’s dual release of Barbie and Oppenheimer — on opening weekend, coming in at $169.5 million domestically compared to $244 million.
