Wicked Got A New Release Date Alongside Gladiator 2, And Director Jon M. Chu Can’t Stop Sharing Barbenheimer-Related Memes

If the excitement for Wicked Part 1 and Gladiator 2 wasn’t high enough, they are now coming out on the same day. The first part of the musical fantasy was originally set for November 27, but after the box office success of Inside Out 2, Wicked creatives likely didn’t want to compete with another deeply popular piece of Disney IP, as Moana 2 was set to release the same day. Considering the audiences are likely similar, Wicked moved its release date up a week to November 22nd. The movie will now open alongside Gladiator 2 which is likely less of a competitive audience. But if Barbenheimer was any indication, movies can share an audience, and even Wicked director Jon M. Chu is excited about the unlikely double feature in 2024.

After the release date change was announced, fans on social media couldn’t help but predict a repeat of “Barbenheimer.” The name was coined when Barbie and Oppenheimer were released on the same day, inciting memes about the stark differences between the movies. Many people ended up committing to the bit and seeing both movies opening weekend, resulting in big box office numbers for both films.

This date change could see something similar happening with Gladiator 2 and Wicked Part 1, and fans are already calling the movie weekend “Wickediator.” Director Chu is totally in on it, and even responded to some memes. One user combined the movies into one epic poster, to which the filmmaker responded with an iconic Gladiator quote. You can see the post from X below:

Another X user hilariously transformed one of the first images of Paul Mescal in Gladiator into Glinda from Wicked, complete with a sword instead of a wand. They smartly called the image “GLINDIATOR,” which is a great pun I wish I came up with myself. Chu also thought this was hysterical, and responded to the meme, which you can see below:

Many fans are already declaring the November 22nd weekend to be a true occasion for a double feature. One user posted some very funny costume ideas for each of the movies. Jon M. Chu must’ve been a fan of the outfits, as he reposted the meme on X:

Another fan also made a meme on X using one of the stills from Challengers where Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist are both kissing Zendaya. The user wrote that each of the boys were Wicked and Gladiator 2, and Zendaya was the poster on November 22nd. Chu reposted this one as well, showing he was also excited about the opening weekend:

Social media users have tried to create a repeat Barbenheimer ever since the phenomenon caught on last summer. It was great for movie theaters, and got people excited about event movies again. However, not many double features were able to capture the same fanfare. Some joked that “Saw Patrol” could catch on when the Paw Patrol movie and Saw X opened alongside each other. Others thought Moana 2 and Wicked would be a Barbenheimer thing, but the movies were too similar in audience appeal to have the same meme-able quality. However, with the stark differences between Gladiator 2 and Wicked, and the blockbuster nature of both films, this could be the Barbenheimer sequel the movies need right now, and Jon M. Chu seems to agree.

You can see both Wicked Part 1 and Gladiator 2 in theaters nationwide on November 22nd. Both are some of the buzziest movies of the year, so make sure to catch both on the biggest screen possible this Fall. For more information on other exciting titles heading to cinemas in the near future, make sure to consult our 2024 movie release schedule.