What Is the Metacritic Rating for Wicked

The Metacritic rating for Wicked is 73 out of 100, based on reviews from film critics following the release of the 2024 adaptation Updated for 2026.

The Metacritic rating for Wicked is 73 out of 100, based on reviews from film critics following the release of the 2024 adaptation. This score positions the film squarely in the “generally favorable reviews” category, indicating that while critics appreciated the movie, it didn’t achieve unanimous acclaim.

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The critical reception tells only part of the story, however—on Rotten Tomatoes, Wicked’s Tomatometer sits at 91%, and its audience score reaches an exceptional 99%, suggesting a significant gap between what professional critics valued and what general audiences embraced about the film.

This article explores what Wicked’s Metacritic score means in the broader context of musical adaptations, how it compares to similar films, and why the disconnect between critical and audience ratings reveals something important about how different groups evaluate contemporary musicals.

Understanding these ratings requires looking beyond the numbers themselves to grasp what critics were specifically evaluating and where their concerns diverged from audience enthusiasm.

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Where Does Wicked’s Metacritic Score Rank Among Musical Adaptations?

A metacritic rating of 73 places Wicked solidly in the middle tier of musical film adaptations.

To contextualize this, the original Hairspray (2007) achieved a 66, while Les Misérables (2012) scored 61—both still considered respectable critical performances despite lower scores than Wicked received.

In contrast, films like In the Heights (2021) scored 71, while In the Woods (2014) received 66. The film sits above many adaptation attempts but below the highest-rated musical films of recent decades.

This positioning suggests critics recognized Wicked’s technical achievements and entertainment value while maintaining reservations about certain aspects of its execution. The competitive landscape of musical adaptations reveals that achieving a score in the 70s reflects a common critical response: appreciation for ambition and spectacle, tempered by concerns about pacing, narrative choices, or casting decisions.

Critics often value fidelity to source material differently than audiences do, which partly explains why Wicked, an adaptation of a beloved stage musical and prequel novel, faced scrutiny from those comparing it to stage performances.

The 73 score indicates critics found the film competent and engaging enough to recommend, but not exceptional enough to declare it a definitive achievement in the genre.

Where Does Wicked's Metacritic Score Rank Among Musical Adaptations?

Understanding the Metacritic Score of 73—What This Rating Actually Signifies

A 73 on Metacritic falls into the “generally favorable reviews” category, which Metacritic defines as indicating a film that received more positive than negative critical coverage.

However, this score doesn’t mean 73% of critics gave favorable reviews—instead, Metacritic aggregates numerical scores from professional reviewers and converts them to a 0-100 scale.

A film rated 73 typically received a mix of positive reviews (perhaps 7.5/10 or 8/10), some mixed reviews (6.5/10 or 7/10), and possibly a few negative outliers, which when averaged together produce this middle-ground number.

What this means practically is that a critic might write a favorable review praising Wicked’s ambition, visual design, and lead performances while still deducting points for pacing issues in the second half or feeling the film lost focus compared to its source material. These nuanced opinions—appreciative but with reservations—comprise the bulk of critical consensus.

The 73 reflects a film that cleared the bar for quality but didn’t exceed expectations dramatically.

For comparison, a 73 is significantly lower than a film that critics unanimously praised (85+) but considerably higher than a film that drew mixed-to-negative reactions (55-65), which is why Wicked qualifies as having “generally favorable” critical reception rather than being considered divisive.

Wicked Critical Reception Across PlatformsMetacritic Score73points (0-100)Rotten Tomatoes Critics91points (0-100)Rotten Tomatoes Audience99points (0-100)Source: Metacritic, Rotten Tomatoes

The Striking Gap Between Critics and Audiences—Why Wicked’s Ratings Tell Different Stories

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Wicked’s critical reception is the 26-point gap between its Metacritic score of 73 and its rotten Tomatoes audience score of 99%.

This nearly universal audience approval contrasts sharply with the more measured critical consensus, revealing a fundamental difference in what critics and general audiences valued in the film.

Audiences overwhelmingly embraced Wicked, rating it almost perfectly, while critics acknowledged its merits but maintained professional reservations about specific elements. This divergence is not uncommon for beloved source material adaptations, particularly musicals with passionate fan bases.

Audiences often prioritize emotional resonance, spectacle, and fidelity to material they love, while critics weigh factors like narrative innovation, character development complexity, and how the film functions as a standalone work for those unfamiliar with the stage musical.

A viewer who had cherished the Wicked musical for years might rate the film 10/10 for bringing their favorite story to the screen convincingly, while a film critic might rate it 7/10 for making predictable narrative choices or extending certain sequences longer than necessary. Both perspectives are valid—they simply emphasize different criteria.

However, if X then the reverse can occur too: if a film makes bold departures from source material, critics sometimes rate it higher for originality while audiences who loved the original feel disappointed. In Wicked’s case, audiences clearly found the adaptation more satisfying than critics did.

The Striking Gap Between Critics and Audiences—Why Wicked's Ratings Tell Different Stories

How to Interpret Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes When Choosing What to Watch

When deciding whether to see Wicked based on critical scores, understanding the difference between Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes becomes essential.

Metacritic’s 73 provides a nuanced aggregate score that weights reviewers and attempts to capture gradations of opinion—a critic who gave a “B+” review counts differently than one who gave a “C-.” Rotten Tomatoes’ approach is simpler: the 91% Tomatometer counts whether a review was “fresh” (positive) or “rotten” (negative), with no middle ground, while the 99% audience score reflects how individual viewers rated it.

In practical terms, the Metacritic score gives you a more precise measurement of critical sentiment, while Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer tells you the proportion of critics who liked it at all, regardless of degree.

For someone deciding whether to see Wicked, these numbers suggest a film that critics found entertaining enough to recommend, though with qualifications, while audiences found it nearly flawless. This pattern is common with spectacle-driven films—think major blockbusters or adaptations of beloved properties—where the general public’s enthusiasm can significantly outpace critical appreciation.

A practical approach is to read a few actual critical reviews if you’re on the fence, particularly if you’re a longtime Wicked musical fan (your score might align closer to the 99%) or if you typically align with professional critics’ priorities.

The gap between 73 and 99 is telling: it suggests you should base your decision primarily on how much you enjoy the source material and musicals generally, rather than relying exclusively on critic consensus.

Why Do Critical and Audience Ratings Sometimes Diverge So Dramatically?

The 26-point gap between Wicked’s critical and audience ratings reflects several underlying factors. Critics often approach films with different criteria than general audiences, emphasizing originality, thematic depth, technical execution, and how effectively a film works for viewers encountering the story for the first time.

Audiences, particularly those familiar with the Wicked musical, evaluate based on emotional satisfaction, nostalgia, spectacle, and whether favorite moments translated effectively to film. When a film prioritizes fan service and emotional beats over narrative risk-taking, this dynamic becomes pronounced.

However, if X then the disparity could be inverted if a film took radical departures from source material—critics might praise boldness while longtime fans felt betrayed.

Additionally, professional critics sometimes identify technical or structural issues that don’t bother general audiences. A pacing problem that a critic documents in detail might barely register for someone caught up in the emotional momentum. The professional distance critics maintain can actually work against films designed primarily for emotional impact, which Wicked likely is.

Audiences voting 99% aren’t necessarily wrong and critics giving 73 aren’t being overly harsh—they’re simply using different frameworks. For fans of the source material, the audience score is probably more predictive of your own experience.

For someone approaching Wicked as purely a film (not a musical adaptation), the critical score might offer a more balanced perspective.

Why Do Critical and Audience Ratings Sometimes Diverge So Dramatically?

Wicked’s Awards Recognition and the Broader Critical Conversation

While Metacritic scores influence immediate perception, awards recognition provides another lens on critical evaluation. Wicked’s 73 score didn’t prevent it from receiving nominations and recognition from industry bodies, suggesting critics’ measured response didn’t translate to dismissal at awards ceremonies.

The film’s technical achievements—production design, costume work, visual effects—were widely acknowledged even by critics who had reservations about narrative elements.

This pattern reveals that critics’ overall score of 73 encompasses appreciation for specific aspects of the film, even when the overall package received a middling rating. The distinction matters because it means Wicked should be understood not as a film critics disliked, but as one they found uneven.

A film scoring 73 often has standout elements worth celebrating alongside aspects needing improvement, which matches the critical conversation around Wicked’s strong performances and visual spectacle balanced against questions about its narrative pacing and editorial choices.

What Wicked’s Ratings Say About Modern Musical Cinema

Wicked’s critical and audience reception contributes to an evolving conversation about what audiences want from musical adaptations in the 2020s. The near-perfect audience score suggests musicals adapted from stage properties have discovered an audience that prioritizes faithful translation and emotional authenticity over critical novelty.

Critics’ more measured 73 rating reflects professional skepticism about whether faithfulness alone constitutes sufficient cinematic achievement, suggesting critics are asking: does this work as cinema, or does it merely function as a 150-minute recording of beloved stage material? This dynamic will likely shape how studios approach future musical adaptations.

If audiences consistently rate musical films higher than critics, studios might feel emboldened to prioritize fan satisfaction and spectacle over critical acclaim. The success of Wicked despite critical reservations suggests that for musical properties with existing fanbases, audience enthusiasm can override critical consensus.

The 73 Metacritic score is unlikely to prevent sequels, expansions, or further adaptations of similar properties—a lesson that may reshape how the industry measures success beyond traditional critical assessment.

Conclusion

Wicked’s Metacritic rating of 73 reflects a film that achieved generally favorable critical reception while falling short of unanimous acclaim. This score should be understood not as criticism’s rejection of the film, but as a measured acknowledgment of its strengths—impressive performances, visual spectacle, and emotional resonance—alongside reservations about narrative choices and pacing.

The 26-point gap between the 73 Metacritic score and the 99% Rotten Tomatoes audience score reveals something fundamental about how musical adaptations are evaluated: critics and audiences prioritize different elements, with audiences prioritizing emotional satisfaction and fidelity to beloved source material while critics assess the film’s achievement as cinema more broadly.

When deciding whether to watch Wicked, these ratings suggest you should weigh your personal relationship with the source material heavily. If you love the stage musical or have strong feelings about musicals generally, the 99% audience score is probably more predictive of your experience than the 73 critical consensus.

If you typically align with professional critics or approach films with skepticism about spectacle over substance, reading specific reviews that explain critics’ reservations would provide more useful guidance than any aggregate number.

Either way, Wicked’s ratings demonstrate that a film can achieve substantial critical appreciation, major audience enthusiasm, and meaningful commercial success even without achieving critical consensus.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a Metacritic score of 73 considered good?

Yes, 73 qualifies as “generally favorable” on Metacritic’s scale, indicating critics appreciated the film more than they criticized it. It’s well above the midpoint and suggests the film is worth watching for most audiences, though critics identified specific reservations worth considering.

Why is there such a huge gap between the Metacritic score (73) and audience score (99%)?

Critics and audiences use different evaluation criteria. Audiences heavily weighted emotional satisfaction and fidelity to the beloved stage musical, while critics also assessed technical execution, narrative structure, and how the film functions as cinema independent of the source material. This divergence is common with adaptations of beloved properties.

How does Wicked’s 73 Metacritic score compare to other recent musicals?

Wicked’s 73 is higher than recent musical adaptations like In the Heights (71) and les misérables (61), positioning it among the better-reviewed musical films in recent years. However, it’s not as high as some classic musical adaptations, reflecting solid critical appreciation with some notable reservations.

Should I trust Metacritic or audience scores more for deciding whether to see Wicked?

That depends on your preferences. If you love the stage musical or musicals generally, the near-perfect audience score is probably more predictive of your enjoyment. If you prefer critical perspectives on filmmaking quality, read specific reviews explaining what critics appreciated and where they had concerns rather than relying on aggregate numbers alone.

What does Metacritic’s 73 rating actually measure?

Metacritic aggregates numerical scores from professional critics, converting them to a 0-100 scale. A 73 means critics’ reviews averaged out to “more positive than negative,” typically consisting of a mix of positive reviews (7.5-8/10), some mixed reviews, and possibly a few negative outliers.

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