"Wicked" and "Gladiator II" are both pretty good films, but if you only have time for one this weekend, see "Wicked."

As most have by now picked up, two disparate, big-budget films are sharing a release date: One, an R-rated historical epic stacked with a starry cast of Oscar hopefuls. The other, a musical based on a beloved property with plenty of

Wicked” and “Gladiator II” both drew less in Thursday previews than their “Barbenheimer” counterparts, but are still expected to help the fall box office.

Barbenheimer” was a phenomenon impossible to manufacture. But that hasn’t stopped people from trying to recreate it. This weekend is perhaps the closest approximation yet as the Broadway musical adaptation “Wicked” opens against the chest-thumping sword and sandals epic “Gladiator II.

Wicked offers a gravity-defying origin story for the Wicked Witch of the West, while Gladiator II revisits the violence of ancient Rome.

Paramount Pictures Two very different, very anticipated movies are headed into theaters Friday, and some prognosticators say it could lead to a new “Barbenheimer” box office bonanza. Wicked and Gladiator II are Friday’s big openers,