I joked on social media that I was catching a Thursday preview of “Wicked” with a cinema full of “high school theater kids.”

There were certainly a lot more of them — chatting, endorsing the Arianda Grande ole’ time — all two hours and forty mintues of it — than there were at an opening night showing of “Gladiator II” I caught.

Russell Crowe’s only in this “Gladiator” in flashbacks. A well-preserved Connie Nielsen and the venerated old man of British theater and British accents in film Derek Jacobi are the only two returnees from 2000’s “Gladiator.”

But Pedro Pascal and Paul Mescal have their fanbases. Apparently. And Denzel draws a crowd, as always.

Deadline.com is calling it a “Wicked” weekend, with the first film in a two-part adaptation of the stage musical based on a fanciful, fantasy “prequel” to “The Wizard of Oz” earning perhaps double the take of the “Gladiator” sequel — $114 million to $55 million.

“Wicked” had “fan screenings via cineplex paid previews earlier in the week, and opened Thursday afternoon. It picked up $19 million from three days of “preview” showings to launch this weekend. Folded into Friday’s “opening” day, that added up to $49 million+.

Projections Friday pointed to a $120 million opening. Sat. that dropped to $117, falling off to $114 Sunday. 

“Wicked” is the most popular stage musical of the 21st century, so it has fans. Lots of them. The formidable and tuneful Cynthia Erivo and the bubbly/dizzy former child starlet turn pop star/one-time Pete Davidson dater Ariana Grande take over roles held by Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel on Broadway.

Chenoweth and Menzel have cameos in this bloated, joyless bore. Most reviews have been more generous, but not all and not by much. It still may earn $120 million from people looking for a break from TV news. That BO number may be high by a pretty big margin, as taking three days of showings to make up the “preview” total loads the math. Saturday will be the tell.

“Gladiator II” picked up $6.5 million Thursday night and a decent Friday ($23 million+) and Sat. did not get it up to its projected $60 million take. Reviews for it weren’t great, either. Mine included. Lumbering and tedious, derivative and kind of pointless, to boot — I thought. It earned $55 million and change.

“Red One” just  cleared $13 million on its second weekend  — a 60% or so falloff from its opening.  Word of mouth wasn’t good

“Bonhoeffer,” an anti-fascist/Christian nationalist bio-pic from WWII era Germany, cleared $5 million for its opening. Not terrible, but not great. Not the message that crowd wants to hear, before or after the election. It’s not that good, either.

The last weekend “Venom: The Last Dance” will be in the top five will earn it another $4 million. It should reach the $142 million mark, all-in from the North American take by the time “Moana 2” takes many of its remaining screens.

And for those keeping score at home, Judy Greer’s star vehicle, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” is showing some legs — finishing in the top five Sunday and clearing the $25 million mark at the same time.