After this month’s elections, it seemed like nothing — and certainly nothing from California — could bring America together. But a burst of Hollywood blockbusters is achieving just that.
Central to this cinematic escapism is Jon M Chu, director of Wicked, the film now lighting up the box office. Wicked took $114mn in the US on the crucial pre-Thanksgiving weekend, twice as much as Ridley Scott’s epic Gladiator II. Globally it is set to become the highest-grossing film adaptation of a Broadway musical.
Chu, previously best known for 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians, is a soft-spoken yet bombastic filmmaker with a high bar. He likes to say that people should aspire to make the films that only they can make, and only tell stories that feel right for the moment.