Cynthia Erivo shares verdict on controversial theater etiquette for Wicked screenings

Cynthia Erivo has shared her thoughts about proper theater etiquette for fans when they go to see Wicked: Part One.

During an interview with Today’s hosts at Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the 37-year-old actor spoke candidly about playing Elphaba — alongside Ariana Grande who stars as Glinda — in the hit film. TV host Hoda Kotb specifically asked Erivo if she thinks it’s appropriate to sing in the theaters during the movie musical, noting that a lot of fans had already done this.

In response, Erivo said that she actually thought it was “good” that people were singing in their seats. “I’m OK with it,” she explained. “We spent this long singing it ourselves. It’s time for everyone else to join in. It’s wonderful.”

In the theme of the holiday, Erivo then shared that she has so much to be thankful for this year, including celebrating the recent release of Wicked.

“This has been a dream come true, to be able to share it with my family and friends.,” she said. “People sharing their own experiences and feeling different. And them being comfortable enough to share that with me. I’m really thankful for that.”

Earlier in the conversation, she described how she felt now that the Wicked was out, after years of working on it.

“It’s the most wonderful, unbelievable experience ever,” she said. “This is such a wonderful thing to be able to share with everyone. We’ve been keeping it to ourselves, and now everyone else can watch it! I’m so pleased. I’m so overwhelmed by the wonderful reactions we’ve been getting.”

Before Erivo showed her approval of fans singing during the Wicked, some theaters previously urged viewers not to do this. In a short Wicked-themed preshow advisory video, AMC Theaters tells movie-goers they aren’t allowed to sing along tosongs at any point during the film.

Speaking to IndyStar, AMC spokesperson Ryan Noonan previously explained that the no-singing rule has always been a part of the theater’s “long-standing policy,” to prevent “disruptive behavior.” However, the company wanted to emphasize these rules before the musical debuted in theaters with time-honored songs like “Defying Gravity” and “Popular.”

When Wicked hit theaters on November 22, fans also urged each other to stop taking pictures and videos of scenes from the film, to prevent spoilers from popping up on social media. On X/Twitter, one person shared a photo of the opening credits and asked others to “show ur ‘wicked part 1’ photosss,” prompting a debate over movie theater etiquette.

Wicked: Part One brought in $114 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters within the first weekend. The first part of the Universal Pictures film grossed $50.2 million in international markets, for a combined global total of $164.2 million. The film also became the highest-grossing Broadway adaptation, as Into the Woods, which opened to $31 million in 2014, was the previous record holder.

However, the double premiere of Wicked and Gladiator 2 failed to surpass the success of Barbenheimer — last summer’s dual release of Barbie and Oppenheimer — on opening weekend, coming in at $169.5 million domestically compared to $244 million.