‘Gladiator II’ and ‘Wicked’ are lavish spectacles — but are they another Barbenheimer?

Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in <em>Wicked</em>.

Two big-budget films are set to battle at the box office: Wicked offers a gravity-defying origin story for the Wicked Witch of the West, while Gladiator II revisits the violence of ancient Rome.

(Image credit: Giles Keyte)

Two big-budget films are set to battle at the box office: Wicked offers a gravity-defying origin story for the Wicked Witch of the West, while Gladiator II revisits the violence of ancient Rome.