WICKED CASTS SPELL OVER CRITICS CHOICE

Wicked has cast its spell yet again, bewitching Critics Choice Awards voters into bestowing upon it 11 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actress for Cynthia Erivo and Best Supporting Actress for Ariana Grande. The cast also earned a nod for Best Acting Ensemble.

The Universal release, which has banked $460m as of this week, is, by far, the highest-grossing Broadway musical adaptation of all time. That success helped pave the way for the Verve/Republic soundtrack, which continues its strong showing, with 108k in sales the first week of December. It’s also laying claim to the DSPs; "Defying Gravity" has conjured more than 40m Spotify streams so far.

The 30th annual Critics Choice Awards will be broadcast live on E! on 1/12 at 7pm ET, with Chelsea Handler returning to host. Peacock will stream the ceremony the following day.

Wicked: Part Two is set for release on 12/21/25.

In the spirit of the movie, HITS is a little green around the gills today—but that could just be too much eggnog.