This cinematic event of the year is here with the release of the second half of the Wicked story, Wicked: For Good.
Watch With Us couldn’t be more excited about it, so in celebration, we decided to put together a list of our favorite cinema adaptations of L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz books.
You may primarily be familiar with the classic Judy Garland film, but there are a few more worthy adaptations of the material.
Read on to see our list and where the Wicked films rank.
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5. ‘The Wiz’ (1978)
This film adaptation of the hit 1974 Broadway musical reimagines The Wizard of Oz, led by a Black cast, following 24-year-old Harlem schoolteacher Dorothy Gale (Diana Ross) as she is transported to the magical fantasyland of Oz. With a soundtrack of infectious, catchy songs like “Ease On Down the Road,” The Wiz features performances from Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow and Richard Pryor as the Wizard of Oz.
The Wiz is notable for being Michael Jackson’s only major film role, and while it received mixed reviews upon release, it has since gone on to become a cult film in no small part due to Jackson. While some found enlisting dramatic director Sidney Lumet for a musical to be a poor choice, the film still succeeds in its great performances, while the less colorful approach to the material highlights the film’s socially conscious subtext.
4. ‘Wicked: For Good’ (2025)
The highly anticipated sequel to Wicked follows the rest of the story in the 2003 stage musical of the same name. We pick up five years from where Wicked left off, in which the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), has been demonized in Oz and now resides in exile within the Ozian forest. Meanwhile, Glinda the Good Witch (Ariana Grande) lives in the Emerald City palace, beloved by the citizens. But when a mob forms against Elphaba, Glinda must reunite with her former friend to save her.
Reviews of Wicked: For Good indicate that critics feel this sequel doesn’t quite match up to its immediate predecessor, but fans, on the other hand, have been overwhelmingly pleased with the film. The performances from Erivo and Grande unsurprisingly anchor much of the movie, and despite the lack of catchy tunes that define the story’s first half, Wicked: For Good is still incredibly heartstring-tugging and visually stunning.
Wicked: For Good is now playing in theaters.
3. ‘Return to Oz’ (1985)
This dark fantasy reimagining of the world of Oz is an unofficial sequel to the 1939 film, while combining elements of Baum’s Oz novels The Marvelous Land of Oz and Ozma of Oz. The film follows Dorothy Gale (Fairuza Balk), whose insistence on having traveled to Oz concerns her Aunt Em (Piper Laurie) and Uncle Henry (Matt Clark), so they bring her to a sanatorium. Dorothy escapes, and in doing so, she is transported back to Oz, where she finds the Yellow Brick Road reduced to rubble and Emerald City in ruins. Dorothy sets out to save the city and free her friends, who have been turned to stone.
Return to Oz struggles as a kid’s movie due to its genuinely terrifying imagery, in particular, the characterization of creatures known as the “Wheelers.” However, the movie gained a cult following in part because fans of the Oz books feel it’s a more faithful interpretation than the Judy Garland classic. Ultimately, Return to Oz is an incredibly unique film, whose visual style, darker tone and special effects can be more fully appreciated by adults.
Return to Oz is streaming on Disney+.
2. ‘Wicked’ (2024)
The first act adaptation of Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman’s extremely popular stage musical follows Elphaba (Erivo) before she becomes the Wicked Witch of the West, and Glinda (Grande) before she becomes Glinda the Good Witch. The movie charts Elphaba’s difficult upbringing, having been born with green skin and subsequently ostracized for it, and her time at Shiz University, where she meets Glinda as her mismatched dorm roommate. Eventually going from enemies to friends, the pair’s lives nevertheless begin to take on very different paths.
Wicked received an impressive ten nominations at the 2025 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actress for Erivo and Best Supporting Actress for Grande. Fans and critics agreed that the film was a massive triumph — a well-acted, enchanting and aesthetically brilliant cinematic adaptation of the Wicked musical. Thus, the movie unsurprisingly became a cultural phenomenon to match that of its source material.
Wicked is streaming on Prime Video.
1. ‘The Wizard of Oz’ (1939)
It’s hard to surpass the iconic status of the first Oz film, a masterful and groundbreaking work of Hollywood filmmaking that features one of the most legendary performances of all time in Garland as Dorothy Gale. Dorothy is swept away from her home in Kansas to the Technicolor world of Oz, where she struggles to find her way home while avoiding the wrath of the Wicked Witch of the West (Margaret Hamilton) for accidentally killing the witch’s sister.
Cynthia Erivo Says Goodbye to Elphaba After ‘Wicked: For Good’ Release
A musical fantasy that went on to influence so many films after it for generations to come, The Wizard of Oz is rightly considered one of the greatest movies of all time. With memorable performances, excellent songs and a pop-art look created from painstaking Technicolor application, The Wizard of Oz has more than earned its place in the annals of cinema history.
The Wizard of Oz is streaming on HBO Max.
To be considered “the best,” these films and series can be visually engaging, intellectually stimulating or simply just fun to watch, but the one trait they must have is that they are all, in some way, entertaining. We then check which platform they are streaming on and how you can access them as a subscriber. No algorithm nonsense or paid endorsements here — our recommendations are based purely on our love and interest for the films and shows we love.
