USA TODAY, part of Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), announced Universal Pictures’ “Wicked,” directed by Jon M. Chu, as the winner of the inaugural USA TODAY Movie Meter competition. The Movie Meter program serves as a tool to gauge the public sentiment surrounding the year’s acclaimed films. “Wicked” is the untold story of the witches of Oz, based upon the popular Broadway musical. The film explores the power of friendship, acceptance and standing up for what is right, set to a soundtrack of beloved songs performed by Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and a star-studded cast.

USA TODAY Movie Meter panelists rated the 10 films nominated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the ‘Best Film’ category for the Academy Awards from February 12 to March 3 at 1:00 a.m. EST. Movie Meter registrants had the theatrical trailers available for viewing and rated all the eligible films on a scale from one as the lowest to five as the highest. Based on thousands of votes, the film with the highest average rating was named the winner.

The top five films, as rated by the 2025 USA TODAY Movie Meter panelists are:

  1. “Wicked” – Score: 3.76
  2. “A Complete Unknown” – Score: 3.72
  3. “Conclave” – Score: 3.65
  4. “The Brutalist” – Score: 3.59
  5. “The Substance” – Score: 3.53

“Congratulations to the cast, crew and Universal Pictures for ‘Wicked’ winning USA TODAY’s inaugural Movie Meter as ranked by the public. This program delivers on our mission to provide our audiences with the content and experiences they crave,” said USA TODAY Senior Vice President, Monica Richardson. “The continued success of Movie Meter will further cement USA TODAY as the nation’s source for entertainment news and more.”

For more details about the USA TODAY Movie Meter results, visit https://moviemeter.usatoday.com.

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