Ariana Grande in Wicked: For Good , Awards, Role, and What Comes Next
Ariana Grande in Wicked: For Good
- Grande reprises Glinda in Wicked: For Good, directed by Jon M. Chu, released November 21, 2025.
- She earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress and a Grammy win for “Defying Gravity.”
- Grande and Cynthia Erivo made history as the first two actors from the same film nominated twice at the Golden Globes.
- The Eternal Sunshine Tour — her first in seven years — launches June 6, 2026 in Oakland, California.
Ariana Grande just turned Glinda into a career-defining role. Her return in Wicked: For Good earned her a Golden Globe nomination, a Grammy win, and a standing ovation at the 2025 Oscars. For fans wondering what Grande does as Glinda in Part 2 and what it means for her career, every answer is here.
Grande plays Galinda Upland, known as Glinda the Good, alongside Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba. The film adapts the second act of Stephen Schwartz’s stage musical. Director Jon M. Chu and Universal Pictures released it on November 21, 2025, one year after the first Wicked film.
Ariana Grande as Glinda: What Happens in Wicked: For Good
Grande’s Glinda faces her most difficult choices in Wicked: For Good. The film follows Glinda as she becomes the public face of the Wizard’s regime while Elphaba fights against it. Grande described filming the pivotal duet “For Good” as “unlike anything I’ve ever experienced,” telling the Variety Awards Circuit Podcast that she filmed the scene over a full week.
“It’s a pivotal moment in Glinda’s journey,” Grande told Variety. She added that the film shows “a side of her we’ve never seen before.” Grande noted she had not watched the final cut at the time of the interview, saying she was “not sure I’m ready to feel all of it again.”
The cast also includes Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum, all reprising their roles from the 2024 original. Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox wrote the screenplay.
Ariana Grande’s Wicked: For Good Awards and Nominations
Grande and Cynthia Erivo made history at the 2026 Golden Globes as the first two actors from the same film nominated twice for their respective roles. Grande received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by a Female in a Supporting Role. Erivo received a nomination for Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.
Wicked: For Good collected five Golden Globe nominations in total. Those included two nods for Best Original Song Motion Picture for Stephen Schwartz’s “No Place Like Home” and “The Girl in the Bubble”, plus a Cinematic and Box Office Achievement nomination.
Grande also won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 68th Grammy Awards for “Defying Gravity” with Erivo. That win marks her second Grammy overall. At the 2025 Oscars, Grande received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the first Wicked film. She and Erivo opened the 97th Academy Awards ceremony with a medley of “Over the Rainbow,” “Home,” and “Defying Gravity,” earning a standing ovation.
Ariana Grande Wicked: For Good Box Office Performance
Wicked: For Good crossed the $300 million domestic milestone at the box office, per Screen Rant reporting from December 2025. The sequel performed solidly, though it did not match the record-breaking run of its 2024 predecessor. Universal Pictures received a Cinematic and Box Office Achievement nomination at the 2026 Golden Globes for the film.
The first Wicked film won the Cinematic and Box Office Achievement category at the 2025 Golden Globes. That original film earned Wicked 10 Oscar nominations, including acting nods for both Grande and Erivo.
Ariana Grande’s Wicked: For Good Press Tour Highlights
Grande hosted Saturday Night Live on December 20, 2025, to promote Wicked: For Good, her second time hosting the show for a Wicked film. The episode became SNL’s most-watched holiday episode since 2020 and season 51’s highest-rated episode of the year, per Wikipedia. She hosted her first Wicked-related SNL episode in October 2024, which drew the show’s highest ratings since May 2021.
Grande and Erivo were in Paris on the Wicked: For Good press tour in November 2025 when they learned of their Grammy nominations live on camera. Both stars were visibly emotional, with Grande wiping tears from Erivo’s eyes during the announcement. Grande also appeared in Wicked: One Wonderful Night, a special broadcast in November 2025 featuring the film’s cast performing music live.
Ariana Grande’s Next Projects After Wicked: For Good
Grande embarks on the Eternal Sunshine Tour starting June 6, 2026, at the Oakland Arena in Oakland, California. The 41-show tour covers North America and the United Kingdom, wrapping September 1, 202,6 in London. It marks her first concert tour since the Sweetener World Tour in 2019.
Grande also joins the cast of Focker In-Law, the fourth Meet the Parents film, targeting a Thanksgiving 2026 release. She plays the girlfriend of Ben Stiller’s character’s son, alongside most of the original franchise cast returning. The film adds a major Hollywood comedy credit to her post-Wicked acting career.
Grande also joined the cast of FX’s American Horror Story season 13, announced in October 2025, with the anthology series set to air around Halloween 2026. On the music side, she released Eternal Sunshine Deluxe: Brighter Days Ahead in late March 2025, which sent the album back to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 on Republic Records.
Ariana Grande — Career Context for Wicked: For Good
Grande built her acting career starting on Nickelodeon’s Victorious in 2010, playing Cat Valenti, a role she reprised on Sam & Cat. Wicked marked her first major film role, and it earned her an Academy Award nomination on her first attempt. That rare achievement reflects how completely the role fit her vocal range and stage presence.
As a recording artist on Republic Records, Grande has scored more simultaneous top 10 positions on the Billboard Hot 100 than any other female artist. “Yes, And?” and “We Can’t Be Friends (Wait for Your Love)” from Eternal Sunshine (2024) both hit No. 1 on the Hot 100. The Eternal Sunshine Tour is her first headline stadium run and her first North American tour since 2019.
Wicked: For Good FAQ Quick Answers
Who does Ariana Grande play in Wicked: For Good?
Grande plays Glinda the Good, also known as Galinda Upland, opposite Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba. The film adapts the second act of the stage musical.
When did Wicked: For Good release in theatres?
Wicked: For Good released November 21, 2025. Universal Pictures moved the date up from November 26, its original target.
Did Ariana Grande win a Grammy for Wicked: For Good?
Grande won the Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 68th Grammy Awards for “Defying Gravity” with Cynthia Erivo from the first Wicked film.
Was Ariana Grande nominated for a Golden Globe for Wicked: For Good?
Yes. Grande received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 2026 ceremony. She and Erivo became the first two actors from the same film to be nominated twice.
Is Ariana Grande going on tour after Wicked: For Good?
Grande launches the Eternal Sunshine Tour on June 6, 2026, in Oakland, California — her first tour in seven years, covering 41 dates in North America and the UK.