The best movie musicals of all time

Is it a musical movie or a movie musical?

For the benefit of the list, we don’t mind whether the stage show was the chicken or the egg, instead, we’re just looking at great films with great musical numbers.

Recently, we asked you, our lovely readers, to tell us what your favourite musical movie is and collected the most popular answers below. With so many on the way, including Kiss of the Spider Woman, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Wicked: For Good, the list could change at any moment! Can’t see your suggestion? Plead your case on social media…

Chicago

One of the few – and the most recent – musical movies on this list to have won the Best Picture prize at the Academy Awards, the 2002 flick starred Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Richard Gere. The villainous vaudevillian dark comedy features songs by the wonderful John Kander and Fred Ebb, and is a go-to for theatre fans.

Fiddler on the Roof

Joseph Stein’s tale of Teyve, a poor Jewish milkman looking to marry off his five daughters in the face of growing tension, was directed on the big screen by Norman Jewison. Its depiction of the fictional town of Anatevka is much grittier than it had been on Broadway, and as a result, the film was praised for its cinematography and editing styles. Following a hit season at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre, Jordan Fein’s revival will return to London and tour this year.

Grease

It might be hard to believe that Grease was the first feature-length movie that Randal Kleiser directed. Jim Jacobs’ and Warren Casey’s musical about summer loving and the fall-outs of high school, has so many electrifying hits that two: “Grease” and “You’re the One That I Want” received Golden Globe Award nominations, while “Hopelessly Devoted to You” was honoured at the Academy Awards.

The Greatest Showman

Based loosely on the life of P T Barnum, never in a million dreams could anybody have predicted the impact of the 2017 film. It is the musical numbers, by EGOT winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, that are largely to thank, with “This Is Me” becoming a modern anthem. A stage adaptation from Disney is currently in the works, set to receive its world premiere in the UK next year.

Hairspray

You really couldn’t stop the beat when the 2007 remake of Hairspray hit screens across the world. With a cast including John Travolta, Queen Latifah, Michelle Pfeiffer, Zac Efron and more, the musical comedy had a heart as big as its wigs. If your TikTok “for you” page is synced with ours, you’ll probably be enjoying the Nikki Blonsky renaissance right now.

Les Misérables

Tom Hooper must’ve always known he had a great challenge ahead when taking one of the West End’s longest-running and most-loved musicals to the big screen. Luckily, he assembled a massive cast including Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Eddie Redmayne, Samantha Barks, and Amanda Seyfried. The cast sang live on set, with varying results…

The Lion King

The 1994 animation is a Disney classic. Timeless songs from Elton John and Tim Rice, and a score by Hans Zimmer, help to tell the story of Simba, a young lion looking to reclaim the throne of the Pride Lands following tragedy. It picked up countless awards for the music, and is regularly regarded as one of the best animated films of all time.

Little Shop of Horrors

An adaptation of an adaptation, Alan Menken and Howard Ashman’s musical comedy horror originally had a different ending that matched more closely to its stage counterpart. Lyle Conway was the mind behind the Audrey II, and speaking of the “Mean Green Mother from Outer Space” – it was the first Oscar-nominated song to use profanity in its lyrics and to be sung by a villain!

Mamma Mia!

How could we resist it!? Up until very recently, the ABBA jukebox musical was the highest-grossing stage musical adaptation ever (though, if you adjust for inflation, it still is). Filmed predominantly in Skopelos, lovingly known as the Mamma Mia! island, there was unanimous applause for the joyous soundtrack and for the formidable Meryl Streep. Since, we’ve had Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, and producer Judy Craymer has all but promised a trilogy…

Oliver!

Another Best Picture winner, Lionel Bart’s Oliver! is a glorious staple in British film history. Carol Reed directed relatively unknown performers, save a couple, in the cast. It was Ron Moody who received the most acclaim, playing Fagin in the West End and Broadway productions, as well as in the film adaptation – he could then consider himself a Global Globe, Academy Award and Tony Award nominee!

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

The 1975 cult favourite made a star out of Tim Curry and thousands of amateur drama enthusiasts who turned out night after night as shadow-casts, lip-syncing, cosplaying, and talking back to the big screen.

Singin’ in the Rain

There was nothing damp about the reception of this movie musical! Gene Kelly directed, choreographed, and starred in the romantic and comedic depiction of the late 1920s in Hollywood. That Debbie Reynolds had no dance experience prior to the film just demonstrates that you can do anything you put your mind to!

The Sound of Music

Robert Wise’s film is widely regarded as being one of the best of all time, alongside its star Julie Andrews as Maria, and the classic music by Rodgers and Hammerstein – and those are a few of every theatre lover’s favourite things!

Sweeney Todd

Audiences couldn’t get a big enough slice of Tim Burton’s gothic spin on the Stephen Sondheim/Hugh Wheeler macabre musical! Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter star as the bloody frightening duo of Fleet Street, receiving praise for sharp performances and Colleen Atwood for her costuming.

tick tick… BOOM!

Lin-Manuel Miranda made his directorial film debut with the semi-autobiographical piece by the late, great Jonathan Larson. Andrew Garfield plays Larson in the Netflix flick, alongside a wealth of familiar faces and voices (including that of Sondheim). It’s a treasure trove of theatrical goodies, revealing new Easter eggs with every rewatch.

West Side Story

There was much love for both the original 1961 film and the one released sixty years later in 2021. Leonard Bernstein’s, Sondheim’s and Arthur Laurents’ take on a New York City Romeo and Juliet is a classic. The most recent Steven Spielberg-directed feature-length made a star out of Rachel Zegler, who made her Broadway debut in a revival of the Shakespeare play, and will be making her West End debut this summer in Evita.

Wicked

Potentially the biggest stage to screen adaptation we’ve ever had, director Jon M Chu controversially split the title into two films: one for each act. The first introduced Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda, leading an all-star cast that includes Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, and a host of West End stars. Performances – and press tour aside – talk has surrounded the new orchestrations of much-loved songs, and how visually breathtaking the movie is, particularly in regards to costumes, where Paul Tazewell made history as the first Black man to win the Best Costume Design Oscar.

A special mention must go to the source material, The Wizard of Oz, and Chu’s take on Miranda’s In the Heights a few years back.