Wicked and Gladiator 2 have become the internet's new Barbenheimer, as the two movies now share the same release date.
Universal's film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Wicked recently had its release date pulled forward to November 22, the same day as director Ridley Scott's Gladiator 2 comes out, and it didn't take long for the internet to see a golden opportunity for the two movies to be watched back-to-back as an unlikely double feature.
The viral sensation that was Barbenheimer celebrated the same-day release of Greta Gerwig's Barbie and Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer last year, and it seems cinemagoers are trying to recreate another two-movie marathon with memes, mash-ups, and more surfacing online as people make plans for Wicked and Gladiator 2.
me and the girls going from gladiator 2 to wicked on november 22 pic.twitter.com/DJCmAKcidV
— zoë rose bryant (@zoerosebryant) July 1, 2024
me showing up to the theatre on November 22 for a Wicked Gladiator double header#PumpRules #VanderpumpRules pic.twitter.com/SWKqSAr5w1
— T (@teewatterss) July 1, 2024
Wicked and Gladiator 2 coming out on the same day pic.twitter.com/mDlIhK1ugm
— Ryan Aguirre (@aguirreryan) July 2, 2024
5 tickets for GLADIATOR 2 and WICKED please pic.twitter.com/ktc4ldkROI
— shea (@sheanorling) July 2, 2024
Me on November 22 when I double feature Wicked & Gladiator 2: pic.twitter.com/jJ3cG0h7Me
— Jillian? (@JillianChili) July 1, 2024
Wicked & Gladiator 2 coming out on the same day: pic.twitter.com/giSrm0aiN6
— Jillian? (@JillianChili) July 1, 2024
Barbenheimer, of course, is a portmanteau of Barbie and Oppenheimer, but the nickname for the latest cinematic double bill is proving a little trickier for people to agree on. There has been everything from "Gladicked" to "Glicked" suggested, but "Wickiator" seems to be the top choice and the one the majority are going with.
“This Thanksgiving, prepare to get GLADICKED down” https://t.co/6EoTW8Gbwb
— Will Mavity (@mavericksmovies) July 1, 2024
Gladiator 2 & Wicked being released the same day = Wickedator ?? https://t.co/U36u6C33eP
— Christian Cortave (@CCortave24) July 2, 2024
Okay I’m throwing out names:
— Kyle Arking ?(he/him) (@ArkingKyle) July 1, 2024
-Wickiator
-Gladicked
-Widiator
-Glicked#Wicked #Gladiator2 pic.twitter.com/QGMP8U6LPc
ok wicked and gladiator are releasing on the same day how are we branding this - i think it’s “Wickiator”
— ⪽mily (@culturedemily) July 1, 2024
Barbenheimer walked so Wickiator could run https://t.co/xdbxROzysM
— Kristin (@Kristin_Stahlke) July 1, 2024
Wickiator hive!!!!! pic.twitter.com/cNrXNs7ePc
— Rachel Leishman (@RachelLeishman) July 2, 2024
Wicked, the musical fantasy film about the witches of Oz, stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, a young woman misunderstood because of her unusual emerald-green skin who has yet to discover her true power, and Ariana Grande as Glinda, a bubbly blonde gilded by privilege and ambition, who has yet to discover her true heart.
Gladiator 2, on the other hand, returns to Rome several decades after the events of its predecessor, with a story that focuses on Paul Mescal's Lucius, Connie Nielsen's son from the first film who is now an adult and ready to fight as a recent set of first-look images saw him go up against Pedro Pascal's Roman general Marcus Acacius.
Wicked and Gladiator 2 both arrive in theaters on November 22 — the same month as Paddington in Peru, Moana 2, and more.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter here.
