Wicked: For Good Streaming on Peacock — IMDb & RT Ratings Breakdown

The Wicked movie phenomenon continues. After Part 1 dominated the 2024 holiday box office with over $680 million worldwide, its conclusion — Wicked: For Good — arrived in theaters and has now made the leap to streaming. The two-part adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical starring Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda has been one of the most anticipated film events in years, and Part 2 carries the weight of resolving a story that audiences have been emotionally invested in since the stage show debuted over two decades ago.

Now that For Good is streaming on Peacock, here is the full ratings breakdown and our verdict on whether the conclusion lives up to the promise of Part 1.

Ratings: Part 1 vs. Part 2

The numbers reveal a sequel that comes very close to matching its predecessor but does not quite reach the same heights. The RT Tomatometer difference is marginal — 89% versus 90% is essentially a statistical tie — but the IMDb drop from 7.6 to 7.4 and the audience score dip from 91% to 88% suggest that general audiences found For Good slightly less satisfying than Part 1.

The box office decline is more significant on paper but is actually typical for second-part conclusions. The combined $1.27 billion for both films makes Wicked one of the most commercially successful musical adaptations in history, sitting alongside Les Miserables, The Greatest Showman, and the original Grease as a defining entry in the genre.

What Critics Are Saying

The critical consensus on For Good is that it delivers the emotional payoff that Part 1 set up, particularly in its final act. Cynthia Erivo's performance as Elphaba has been singled out as the film's greatest asset, with multiple critics calling her work in the climactic sequences among the best acting in any musical film. Ariana Grande continues to surprise as Glinda, bringing more depth to the character in Part 2 as the friendship between the two leads fractures under political pressure.

Where critics diverge is on the pacing. Part 1 had the advantage of being the setup — introducing characters, building the world, and establishing the emotional stakes. For Good has to deliver the resolution, and some reviewers feel that director Jon M. Chu takes too long getting there. The first hour is more deliberate than Part 1's equivalent stretch, and a few subplots feel expanded beyond what the story requires.

However, the final 40 minutes are widely praised as extraordinary. The titular musical number and its surrounding scenes deliver the emotional devastation that fans of the stage show were hoping for, and Chu's cinematic staging elevates the material beyond what a stage production can achieve.

The Musical Numbers

For Good contains some of the most beloved songs from the Broadway show, and the film's treatment of them has been a major talking point. Without going into specific details about which songs appear where (for those who want to experience them fresh), the consensus is that the musical numbers in Part 2 are more emotionally complex than Part 1's, trading the exuberance of the first film's showstoppers for something more bittersweet and layered.

The orchestral arrangements are bigger and more cinematic, and the sound mixing gives the vocals a presence that most musical films do not achieve. Both Erivo and Grande recorded their performances live on set for several key sequences, and the authenticity shows — there is a rawness to the vocal performances that studio recordings cannot replicate.

Best Musicals Streaming Right Now

If Wicked has reignited your love of movie musicals, here are some of the highest-rated options currently available on streaming platforms:

• Chicago (2002) — 7.2 IMDb, 86% RT. The Oscar-winning musical that revitalized the genre.
• La La Land (2016) — 8.0 IMDb, 91% RT. Chazelle's dreamy, bittersweet love letter to Hollywood musicals.
• The Greatest Showman (2017) — 7.5 IMDb, 56% RT. Critics were divided, but audiences love it. A 95% audience score tells the real story.
• West Side Story (2021) — 7.3 IMDb, 92% RT. Spielberg's stunning reimagining of the classic.
• Into the Woods (2014) — 5.9 IMDb, 71% RT. Sondheim's fairy-tale mashup with a stellar cast.
• Hairspray (2007) — 6.7 IMDb, 91% RT. A joyful, energetic musical about inclusion and dancing.
• Moulin Rouge! (2001) — 7.6 IMDb, 76% RT. Luhrmann's maximalist jukebox musical remains polarizing and brilliant.
• Tick, Tick... Boom! (2021) — 7.5 IMDb, 88% RT. Andrew Garfield delivers a career-best performance in Lin-Manuel Miranda's directorial debut.

For more recommendations in this vein, check out our guide to the best feel-good movies streaming right now and our list of Oscar-nominated movies and where to stream them.

Find Musicals with CineMan AI

Movie musicals are a genre where ratings can be particularly misleading. The Greatest Showman has a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes but a 95% audience score — if you only looked at the critics, you would skip one of the most beloved musicals of the decade. Conversely, some critically praised musicals leave general audiences cold because the style does not match their taste.

CineMan AI helps you navigate this by showing both IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes scores on every streaming title, plus a personal taste-match score that reflects your individual preferences. If you loved Wicked and The Greatest Showman, CineMan will recognize your affinity for big, emotional musicals and surface similar titles with high match percentages. If you lean more toward Sondheim-style complexity, it will adjust accordingly.

The extension works on Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+. It is free, installs in seconds, and saves you from the endless tab-switching that comes with trying to research movies before watching them.

The Verdict

Wicked: For Good is a worthy conclusion to one of the most ambitious musical adaptations ever attempted. Its 7.4 IMDb and 89% RT scores reflect a film that is critically acclaimed and audience-approved, even if it does not quite match the novelty and energy of Part 1. Cynthia Erivo's performance alone justifies the price of a Peacock subscription, and the final act delivers the emotional catharsis that the two-film arc has been building toward. If you loved Part 1, For Good will not disappoint. If you are new to Wicked, start with Part 1 on Peacock and then let the story carry you through to its conclusion.