Ariana Grande visits Land of Oz for Wicked premiere

Where else to launch the global press juggernaut for the Wicked movie, but the Land of Oz?

On Sunday, Ariana Grande (Glinda) was in Sydney defying gravity with Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba) at the film's Australian premiere held at the State Theatre in Sydney.

The Wicked stage musical, which tells the untold story of the witches of Oz, has been a hit for two decades.

The cinematic version directed by Jon M Chu also features Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Marissa Bode and Ethan Slater.

The Sydney premiere event is the first stop in a five-city tour by the film's stars and is designed as a tribute to one of the show's best-known locations, Munchkinland.

In case that's not enough Wicked, the film producers have conducted the magic trick of transforming the tale into two parts, with the second to arrive in theatres in November 2025.

Limited previews of Wicked begin in cinemas nationally on November 20.