Wicked was a full-blown cultural moment when it hit theaters in 2024, which meant expectations were sky-high for its follow-up, Wicked: For Good. But as awards season rolls around, the contrast between the two films is hard to ignore. While the first movie earned 10 Academy Award nominations, the sequel was not treated kindly when it came to the 2026 Oscar nominations. Now, one Academy voter is shedding light on why the film failed to connect, and why its two leads ultimately left them cold.
Speaking with NewsNation, the voter said they found the sequel largely underwhelming and emotionally distant, despite the star power involved. In their view, the film never fully clicked, even with performers as acclaimed as Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo at its center. They explained:
The movie wasn’t that great. The two have amazing on-screen chemistry but spent most of the movie apart.
The voter also pointed to the two films’ extensive press tour as a factor that didn’t help their perception. While Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo dominated headlines during the promotional run of the first part, leading up to For Good, the tone of their appearances struck some viewers as off-putting rather than endearing. The voter said the constant viral moments and heightened emotional displays ultimately worked against the sequel, adding:
I was also just completely turned off by their promotional performances. They creeped a lot of people out and in their rush to feel authentic, came off as cosplaying.
The voter said it wasn’t just the movie that lost them, but the promotional campaign surrounding it as well. In their view, the press appearances felt off-putting, adding that the stars’ efforts to come across as genuine often had the opposite effect.
Several unscripted moments from the Wicked: For Good press tour went viral, diverting attention from the film itself. One widely discussed panel appearance showed producer Marc Platt grabbing Ariana Grande’s arm, prompting a visibly uncomfortable reaction and a swift, protective response from Cynthia Erivo. The clip spread quickly, with many viewers calling the exchange awkward and disproportionate.
A similar reaction followed a Paris premiere moment in which the two actresses were asked to describe each other’s “auras.” What began as a light question spiraled into another viral clip after Grande nervously second-guessed her answer, and Erivo responded with an elaborate description of her own. According to the voter, that cumulative fatigue played into the awards shutout, bluntly adding:
The movie wasn’t that good and (Erivo and Grande) sucked the air out of any red carpet they were on — and no one wanted to go through that again…Think of it this way: We were protecting Ariana from her anxiety — and Cynthia from having to intervene. Again.
Whether audiences felt the same way as the Oscar voters' assessment or not, the divide between the two films is now firmly part of the conversation. For those curious to revisit what made the franchise take off in the first place, the original Wicked is currently available to stream, while Wicked: For Good can be rented with an Amazon Prime Video subscription, giving viewers the chance to decide for themselves where the magic faded.
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