Wicked: For Good now faces Oscar compeтιтion from an unexpected Netflix hit. For Good, which debuts on November 21, adapts the second act of the Broadway musical of the same name, the first half of which was adapted into 2024’s Wicked, which was the fifth highest-grossing movie of that year and was nominated for 10 Oscars, winning two.
The upcoming Wicked: For Good features director Jon M. Chu returning alongside stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba (now known as the Wicked Witch of the West) and Ariana Grande-Butera as Glinda. The returning cast also includes Jonathan Bailey, Marissa Bode, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, and Jeff Goldblum.
While it is never guaranteed that a sequel to an Oscar-winning movie will also perform well at the Academy Awards, For Good‘s chances seem high. For one thing, there have been quite a few Oscar-nominated sequels that followed Oscar-winning movies, including The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and The Godfather Part II.
Additionally, Wicked: For Good seems destined to earn at least two Oscar nods in a category that seemed like a lock for the movie before the arrival of Netflix’s new hit.
KPop Demon Hunters & Wicked: For Good Will Likely Compete For Best Original Song
It’s “Golden” Vs. Wicked 2’s Original Songs
Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters has become a surprise smash hit. The original animated musical follows Huntr/x, a KPop girl group that moonlights as demon hunters. Their rivals are the demonic boy band Saja Boys. It debuted at No. 2 on Netflix’s global chart of their most-watched English-language movies, rising to No. 1 in its second weekend.
In addition to earning more than 56 million views during its first three weeks, the movie has earned a Certified Fresh Rotten Tomatoes score of 96% with a 90% audience score. One of the critics whose reviews were aggregated for the certified score was ScreenRant‘s own Ben Gibbons, who gave the movie a score of 9 out of 10.
Read an excerpt from his KPop Demon Hunters review below:
KPop Demon Hunters is not just for fans of anime, nor is it just for kids. It’s an incredible adventure filled with humor, emotion, and stunning music. KPop Demon Hunters is a phenomenal family film with heart, pᴀssion, and a fast-paced plot that will keep audiences on the edge of their seats, regardless of age.
In addition to the movie’s existing critical and commercial success (which includes the Saja Boys song “Your Idol” reaching No. 2 on Spotify in the U.S. on July 3, followed by Huntr/x’s “Golden” at No. 3), the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack may be its ticket to earning an Oscar nomination.
Per Variety, Netflix will be submitting “Golden” for consideration for the Oscar for Best Original Song. Given the movie’s popularity, this could place it in a position to provide major compeтιтion for Wicked: For Good, which is expected to earn at least one nomination in that category, if not two.
While 2024’s Wicked did not feature any original songs, For Good will include two new songs by the musical’s original composer, Stephen Schwartz. One song will be for Elphaba (which was co-written by Erivo herself) while the other will be for Glinda. Originally, it seemed likely that one of these two songs would be a lock to win the Oscar.
Can KPop Demon Hunters Shock At The Oscars With “Golden”?
It’s Already Breaking Records
If “Golden” ends up earning an Oscar nomination, it seems entirely likely that it will be up against both Wicked songs. There is a precedent for multiple original songs from any year’s biggest musical being nominated in the same category. This has also happened for movies that combine major musical numbers with non-diegetic original songs on the soundtrack.
In recent years, multiple songs from the same movie were nominated in 2025 (“El Mal” and “Mi Camino” from Emilia Pérez), 2024 (“I’m Just Ken” and “What Was I Made For?” from Barbie), 2017 (“Audition” and “City of Stars” from La La Land), and 2009 (“O… Saya” and “Jai Ho” from Slumdog Millionaire).
Each of the movies that has earned two Best Original Song nominations in the 21st century has also been nominated for Best Picture.
In each of those recent cases, a song from the double-nominated musical won, namely “Jai Ho,” “City of Stars,” “What Was I Made For?,” and “El Mal.” This could mean that Wicked: For Good may still be a lock for the category if both new songs get nominated for Best Original Song.
At the time of writing, the current roster of possible nominees predicted by Variety includes both Wicked: For Good songs, Diane Warren’s “Dear Me” from Diane Warren: Relentless, Rod Wave’s “Sinners” from Sinners, and a potential original song from the upcoming Zootopia 2.
“Golden” has been busy breaking records…
Not all of these songs seem like strong contenders, as Diane Warren has never won an Oscar despite having been nominated 16 times, and the original Zootopia movie’s song “Try Everything” never even earned a nomination. Therefore, KPop Demon Hunters‘ original song could have a strong chance of earning a nod.
Its potential success is supported by the fact that “Golden” has been busy breaking records in the time since the movie premiered. In addition to charting in more than 20 regions, the song hit No. 2 on the Billboard Global 200 and became the first song credited to a fictional band to land on the US Streaming Songs chart since it was created 12 years ago.
Huntr/x themselves have also beaten Blackpink to become the highest-charting female KPop group on the Spotify daily chart in the U.S., in addition to being the first such group to hit No. 1 on that chart, on July 8.
If “Golden” gets into the category and KPop Demon Hunters‘ popularity continues to grow throughout the year, the song could very well take the category, especially if both the songs from Wicked: For Good are strong enough to have unprecedented compeтιтion with one another and split the vote.
Source(s): Variety
