Robert Winfree, Alexis Hejna and Mark Radulich present their Wicked Part 1 2024 Movie Review!

Wicked (titled onscreen as Wicked Part I) is a 2024 American musical fantasy film directed by Jon M. Chu, and written by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox, with songs by Stephen Schwartz. It is the first of a two-part film adaptation of the stage musical of the same name based on the 1995 novel, which in turn is based on the Oz books and the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.

The film covers the musical’s first act. It stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba Thropp and Ariana Grande-Butera as Galinda Upland, with Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum rounding out the principal cast. Set in the Land of Oz before the events of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, it follows Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West, and her friendship with her classmate Galinda, the future Glinda the Good.

Universal Pictures and Marc Platt, who both produced the stage musical, announced the film adaptation in 2012. After a long development and multiple delays, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chu was hired to direct, with Erivo and Grande cast in 2021. The film was split into two to avoid cutting plot points and expand the characters’ journeys and relationships. Principal photography began in England in December 2022, was interrupted in July 2023 by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, and was resumed and completed in January 2024.

Wicked premiered at the State Theatre in Sydney, Australia, on November 3, 2024, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 22. Critical response was positive; the film was named one of the top 10 films of 2024 by the American Film Institute, won Best Film at the National Board of Review and earned four nominations at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. It has grossed $455.6 million worldwide on a $150 million budget, becoming Chu’s highest-grossing film. Wicked Part Two is scheduled for release on November 21, 2025.

Check out our other New Movie reviews.

Everyone deserves the chance to fly. Wicked Part 1 2024 Movie Review

You can now watch many episodes of Radulich in Broadcasting‘s various shows in Video format on the W2M Network Youtube Channel

About Damn You Hollywood

It started out as just a series of summer blockbuster reviews. Since then, it has grown to a nearly weekly movie review show. Robert Winfree and Mark Radulich take on the big-budget studio films and animated features that have of late migrated out of the summer season and have dotted the calendar almost all year long. Winfree and Radulich critique all of the elements of the movie, but that’s not all. They discuss THE MONEY i.e. budgets, did it open #1, projected worldwide gross, etc. Lastly, the duo criticizes the critics. Radulich reads selected bits from Rotten Tomatoes and Winfree attempts not to have an aneurysm. It’s fun for the whole family.

Listen on Your Favorite Podcast Service

Apple Podcasts
Stitcher
iHeartRadio
Spotify
Youtube

Social Media Links

Subscribe to the W2M Facebook Page for more information on all our podcasts.

Twitter: W2M Network, Robert Winfree, Alexis Hejna and Mark Radulich.

About Radulich in Broadcasting’s Beginnings

Mark Radulich has been an internet personality since 2004 with his Progressive Conservatism blog. He then took that blog to the airwaves and created a podcast for it. It then changed to PC Live. After that, he brought out the 411mania Ground and Pound Radio as well.

Also, Mark would partner up with another 411mania alum, Sean Comer, to create the movie franchise review podcast Long Road to Ruin and then Robert Cooper to create the metal album review podcast, The Metal Hammer of Doom. Robert Winfree then added his own podcast, Everybody Loves a Bad Guy. That’s when the Radulich in Broadcasting Network was born. Joining Winfree in having their own podcasts were super fan Jesse Starcher (Source Material). Finally, Winfree and Radulich added a weekly movie review show to the ever-growing lists of podcasts on the Network called Damn You Hollywood.

Robert Winfree

Mark and Robert fell into the movie review thing almost by accident. They’d gotten together a couple of times to discuss particularly divisive movies and discovered that his love of big-budget blockbusters both complimented and clashed with Robert’s perspectives, plus they both genuinely enjoy talking movies with each other. What started out as a summer exclusive series has now expanded to a near year-round almost weekly outing because they enjoy talking movies with each other so much. Robert also hosts the 411 Ground and Pound Radio, while also guest hosting on other shows on the RIBN network when possible.