Wicked Still Winning

Even without a win, Ariana Grande emerged from the Critics Choice Awards with momentum firmly on her side. At the January 4 ceremony held at Barker Hangar in California, the 32-year-old star was celebrated for her turn as Glinda in Wicked: For Good, the second chapter of the two-part cinematic adaptation of the Broadway phenomenon originally created by composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz.

The Best Supporting Actress trophy ultimately went to Amy Madigan for Weapons, edging out a competitive field that also included Elle Fanning, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Wunmi Mosaku, and Teyana Taylor, each recognized for performances across a wide range of genres.

Still, Wicked: For Good remains a major awards-season player, securing six additional nominations including Best Picture—an affirmation of the film’s scale and cultural impact. Grande’s performance, in particular, has been widely praised for the level of transformation required to inhabit the famously effervescent Good Witch of the North, a role first made iconic on Broadway by Kristin Chenoweth.

As she previously explained in a profile with Variety, the process was anything but superficial:

“Maybe people underestimate how long we spent finding and disappearing into these women.”

That creative immersion was shared most closely with Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba—a character originally introduced to theater audiences by Idina Menzel. The two actresses developed a close off-screen bond rooted in mutual protection and trust—an approach Erivo later detailed in her memoir Simply More, released in November 2025. Rather than rivalry, Erivo described a partnership designed to strengthen the work and preserve the emotional health of everyone involved.

The collaboration extended beyond performance. Under the direction of Jon M. Chu, the Wicked films brought together an ensemble cast including Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, and Bowen Yang. Industry observers have pointed to Chu’s collaborative set culture as a key factor in maintaining cohesion across the massive two-film production.

By the time filming wrapped, the experience had clearly left its mark. Grande and Erivo even commemorated the journey with matching “For Good” tattoos—a quiet symbol of a partnership that mirrored the themes of the story they were telling.