*Courtesy of Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures.*

Jon M. Chu’s concluding chapter in his two-part adaptation of the hit Broadway musical drew huge crowds eager to see how Elphaba and Glinda’s story ends. ‘Wicked: For Good’ tallied more than $226 million globally in its first weekend, handily outpacing last year’s first installment; ‘Wicked.’

Domestic audiences contributed $150 million to the haul, with another $76 million coming from overseas markets. That opening surpasses the original film’s $164.2 million debut, which had already set the benchmark for the strongest launch of a Broadway musical on screen.

Chu’s second installment also landed ahead of recent high-profile openers like ‘Superman’ ($220 million) and ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ ($218 million), though it still trails the $300-million-plus debuts of ‘Lilo & Stitch’ and ‘A Minecraft Movie.’

With no major blockbusters arriving until ‘Avatar: Fire And Ash’ in December, ‘Wicked: For Good’ is well-positioned to dominate the box office in the coming weeks, though it will square off against Disney’s ‘Zootopia 2’ next weekend.

The first ‘Wicked’ finished its run with $758 million worldwide and benefited from stronger critical reception than the sequel. Still, the latest installment has given Universal and the creative team plenty to celebrate — another emerald-hued hit that’s already clicking its heels toward a massive finish.

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