How Long Is Wicked? What to Know Before Bringing Kids to the New Musical Movie

Warning: some spoilers for Wicked forward.

Get your popcorn: Wicked will have the audience in their seats for almost three hours.

The first part of the soon-to-be-released musical fantasy film runs for 2 hours and 40 minutes, making it 10 minutes longer than the entire Broadway production from which it was adapted.

The Jon M. Chu-directed film — which stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as lead witches Elphaba and Glinda — has been rated PG by the Motion Picture Association, meaning there’s no doubt that children will be among the audience dazzled by The Emerald City when Wicked premieres in theaters this week.

Given the length of time, parents bringing younger children might want to consider scheduling bathroom breaks.

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AMC Cinemas in New York on September 4, 2020. Noam Galai/Getty Images Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo reveal Wicked Secrets in the Behind the Scenes special: How to watch (exclusive)

They may also want to take aisle seats, so they can get to the bathroom more quickly without potentially disturbing other audience members too much.

Rated PG for “some scary action,” Wicked he saves most of his more harrowing moments for his final scenes. Many include the future flying monkeys of the Wicked Witch of the West, shown at one point baring their teeth and breaking through windows. A scene explaining how monkeys grow wings might upset young audience members who don’t want to see animals in pain.

Also towards the climax of the film, the wizard’s mechanical mask can be considered terrifying – rather, as in The Wizard of Oza harmless man (Jeff Goldblum) emerges from behind his curtain.

Although it is laced with comedy throughout, it is important for parents to take this into consideration Wicked brings the “thematic material” of its MPA rating with depictions of abuse and discrimination.

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Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo inside Wicked (2024).

Universal Pictures

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First reactions from early screenings Wicked widely praised the film, which is based on Stephen Schwartz’s 2003 Tony-winning Broadway musical based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel of the same name.

While in July, he spoke with PEOPLE for an exclusive interview about his memoir Viewfinderdirector Chu, known for his work on Crazy rich Asians and In the Heightsteased that the new film will take its source material to a new level.

Chu, 45, said in part: “We can be more intimate. We got the camera two inches from their face, so we can see when they’re lying, when they’re not, or when they’re lying to themselves. And that brings a lot of power to the show that you can’t have on stage when you have to cheer behind the audience.”

Wicked the first part hits theaters on Friday, November 22, while the second part is scheduled for November 21, 2025.

Go behind the scenes Wicked with a new special issue of PEOPLE, available here.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education