LE MONDE'S OPINION – MUST WATCH

The word 'blockbuster' was initially used to describe an extremely powerful bomb capable of blowing up an entire neighborhood. It has since moved into the realm of cinema to define a predicted hit where the marketing campaign's budget often exceeds that of the film. You are reminded of the word's military origin with Wicked, a blockbuster adaptation of the musical: Launched on Broadway in 2003, it has since broken box-office records and been exported to over a dozen countries.

On the evening of the Paris premiere in the Grand Rex's massive screening room, a pack of teenagers waited excitedly, raised their smartphones to capture scenes and applauded at specific moments without everyone understanding why. The experience was a complete phase shift, as if the process begun by Barbie (Greta Gerwig, 2023) had fully matured.

What process? Hollywood rearming and reconfiguring itself before our very eyes, completely rethinking how it views its audience. It now sees it as young, female, concerned about inclusivity and representation. Wicked is aimed at this audience, giving it everything, striving to please and entertain it – giving it life. As Michael Moses, Universal's marketing director, told Variety: "If you make something that is truly an event for them, they will show up. Barbie proved that in giant magnitude last year. We found hope in that; that we could be a version of that same phenomenon."

Fresh out of the cinema after seeing Wicked, the female spectator is transformed into a consumer: The thousands of trinkets bearing the effigy of the film, born of a close collaboration between the studio and over 400 brands, are made for her.

The two-part adaptation of the theatrical hit cost a whopping $300 million. At its helm: Jon M. Chu, the new golden boy who made a name for himself with the pleasant Step Up franchise and the hugely successful Crazy Rich Asians (2018), featuring a 100% Chinese-American cast. The director is skilled at portraying a politically woke, multicultural American youth that doesn't say no to Hollywood's sweet treats.

That's exactly what Wicked offers, a prequel to The Wizard of Oz focusing on the wicked green witch, unforgettably played by Margaret Hamilton in Victor Fleming's 1939 film. The story takes place in the Land of Oz, where Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) is born and lives a reclusive, painful existence because she was born with green skin. Now a young woman, she manages to enter the prestigious University of Shiz alongside her disabled sister.

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