by Nathaniel R
The Greatest Showman is the second consecutive original movie musical to become a big hit. A sign of more to come?
The Greatest Showman will be crossing the $100 million mark today at the box office. It's become a hit with little fanfare if you think about it. Oh sure it had the mainstream attention you get on opening weekend when you have big stars in your movie but beyond that did the media really take notice? It wasn't in most of the awards conversations that turn the volume way up on others movie this time of year. The only awards traction it received was for Best Original Song which is hardly a bankable business -- except, perhaps, in the case of soundtrack sales.)
But long story short: it's a hit and showing legs in US theaters in that its percentage drop each week is way below the industry norms. The same was true of Moulin Rouge! which arguably kick-started the reemergence of the then-dead genre at the beginning of the century. The musical genre has, it should be evident to everyone, a loyal fanbase. But is Hollywood paying attention...?
Both La La Land and The Greatest Showman, released a year apart, were pretty rare things: original written-for-the-screen movie musicals with non bankable directors. They were big gambles and they both totally paid off.
Why aren't they investing more resources and hiring better directors and taking chances on new creative teams? The time is now!
Sure there are occassional flops in this genre. What's more the often harsh reviews and easy dismissals from some corners suggest that the musical is not a "respectable" genre (which is so stupid that we can't even). But the fact is that musicals have performed pretty consistently with moviegoers since coming back into fashion. If they're promoted and aren't too niche they can expect to earn around $50-$100 million at the US box office. Those numbers can double or triple or quadruple IF the film crosses over with non-musical fanatics. If you keep your budget under, say, $40 million it's a good bet that you'll at least break even.
Here are the English language musicals (included hybrids that are more "musical performance" films than traditional musicals) that have opened chronologically in the 21st century that weren't super indie or buried by the studio or niche enough to gross less than $1 million though there've been a handful of those like: Colma The Musical, Guy and Madeleine on a Park Bench, Love's Labour Lost, The Singing Detective, The Last Five Years. That sort of thing.
MOVIE MUSICALS (2000-2017)
And how well they've performed globally.
Best Picture Nominees are in Red
2000
Dancer in the Dark Lars Von Trier ($40) - 1 Oscar nomination
2001
Moulin Rouge! Baz Lurhmann ($179) - 8 Oscar nominations and 2 wins
Hedwig and the Angry Inch John Cameron Mitchell ($3)
2002
Chicago Rob Marshall ($306) - 13 Oscar nominations and 6 wins
2003
--
2004
Phantom of the Opera Joel Schumacher ($154) - 3 Oscar nominations
2005
Rent Chris Columbus ($31)
Walk the Line James Mangold ($186) - 5 Oscar nominations and 1 win
The Producers Susan Stroman ($36)
2006
Idlewild Bryan Barber ($12)
Dreamgirls Bill Condon ($154) - 8 Oscar nominations and 2 wins
2007
Once John Carney ($20) - 1 Oscar win
Hairspray Adam Shankman ($202)
Across the Universe Julie Taymor ($29) - 1 Oscar nomination
Enchanted Kevin Lima ($340) - 3 Oscar nominations
Sweeney Todd Tim Burton ($152) - 3 Oscar nominations and 1 win
2008
Mamma Mia! Phyllida Lloyd ($609)
High School Musical 3 Kenny Ortega ($252)
2009
The Princess and the Frog Ron Clements & John Musker ($267)
Nine Rob Marshall ($53) - 4 Oscar nominations
2010
Burlesque Steven Antin ($89)
Tangled Nathan Greno & Byron Howard ($591) - 1 Oscar nomination
2011
The Muppets James Bobin ($165) - 1 Oscar win
2012
Rock of Ages Adam Shankman ($59)
Joyful Noise Todd Graff ($31)
Pitch Perfect Jason Moore ($115)
Les Miserables Tom Hooper ($441) - 8 Oscar nominations and 3 wins
2013
Black Nativity Kasi Lemmons ($7)
Frozen Chris Buck & Jennifer Lee ($1.2 billion) - 2 Oscar wins
2014
Muppets Most Wanted James Bobin ($80)
Begin Again John Carney ($63) - 1 Oscar nomination
Jersey Boys Clint Eastwood ($67)
Annie Will Gluck ($133)
Into the Woods Rob Marshall ($213) - 3 Oscar nominations
2015
Pitch Perfect 2 Elizabeth Banks ($287)
2016
Sing Street John Carney ($13)
Moana Ron Clements & John Musker ($643) - 2 Oscar nominations
La La Land Damien Chazelle ($446) -14 Oscar nominations and 6 wins
2017
Beauty and the Beast Bill Condon ($1.2 billion)
The Greatest Showman Michael Gracey ($200+)
Pitch Perfect 3 Trish Sie ($164+)
COMING IN 2018 DATES SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (July 20th)
A Star is Born Bradley Cooper (October 5th)
Mary Poppins Returns (December 25th)
COMING IN 2019 SUPPOSEDLY THOUGH WE DON'T TRULY BELIEVE IT.
Wicked Stephen Daldry (December 20th)
We know that Hollywood is still interested (at least in theory) in adapting stage musical hits since film versions of a couple of them have been announced. Unfortunately those seem to move at an often glacial pace suggesting it's no one's priority or that they actually believe that a film version would dent the box office on Broadway but history has not AT ALL shown that to be the case (Chicago's stage box office was reenergized by the film version and it's STILL running 15 years later. Phantom of the Opera barely noticed its film version and the chandelier still falls 8 times a week to crowds of tourists after 30 years (in short: that one will never close as much as we'd like it to).
Fact: movie musicals should be hitting us with greater regularity than 1-3 a year. There's so much that genre can do. Hollywood should be signing deals on adapting yet more stage musicals, and signing up composing teams for original musicals, and trying to make bigger crossover stars out of actors who become Broadway sensations. And how about Jamie Bell's offer to make a Fred Astaire biopic? Someone please take him up on it! There's just so much this genre of film could offer us...
In Hollywood's Golden Age musicals were as prolific a genre as any. We don't think it's crazy to ask for at least six musicals a year going forward.