“Gladiator II,” the sequel to the 2000 historical epic, also pulled in an estimated $55.5 million from more than 3,500 locations. With “Gladiator II” and “Wicked,” similar excitement had built up online for months, with many fans gearing up for what they deemed “Glicked” (pronounced glick-id). Similarly, “Gladiator II” and “Wicked” offered moviegoers the opportunity to lean into the contrasting themes. By comparison, Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II” is an action-packed film with swords, violent battles and ancient warfare. Still, “Glicked” didn’t quite replicate the magic of “Barbenheimer,” according to Shawn Robbins, founder of Box Office Theory and director of analytics at Fandango.

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Persons: ”, “ Barbie ”, “ Oppenheimer ”, glick, “ Barbie, “ Oppenheimer, ” “, Paul Dergarabedian, “ Barbenheimer, Barbie ”, Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Ridley Scott’s, David Joshua Taylor, “, Taylor, Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Shawn Robbins, ” Robbins, Grande, ” Mescal, Lucius, Robbins, that’s Organizations: Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Airbnb, NBC, Comcast, Variety Locations: Oz, North America, Rome