Mamma Mia! Here we go again: 3 reasons why musicals are Box Office

While "Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again" (Universal) can not open up better than the eleven suites so far this summer, well, he can beat "Sicario: Soldado Day" and "The first purge "- he continues to rely on the renewed interest in musicals created in 2008 surprise" Mamma Mia! "

Phyllida Lloyd's musical adaptation became the biggest national musical success since "Chicago" (2002), producing US $ 175 million / Canada (all figures are adjusted to 2018 ticket prices). It was less than "Chicago" at $ 259 million. But his success has been remarkable enough to encourage other musicals in the years that followed.

In a season of nonstop series and franchises, here's why musicals are making their comeback:

Universal

1. Sequels reign

The musical suites are not common. Of all genres that have been traditional clips of successful sequels, musicals have seen the least. (A musical is a film with singing actors, including numbers that are not just theatrical performances.)

We have seen several high-level musical successes over the last two years, including the big hits "Beauty and the Beast" La La Land ", and" The Greatest Showman ", preceded by" Les Miserables ". But none has spawned a sequel.

The taps for hitting musical films are hard to find. Two of the few came decades ago. "Funny Girl" (367 million Canadian dollars) was followed seven years later by the little "Funny Lady", who managed to readjust the 176 million dollars with the big star Barbra Streisand, "Grease" in 1978, to The height of John Travolta's call, reported a staggering $ 705 million adjusted sum (that's as big as any Marvel movie). It spawned a non-Travolta sequel four years later, which brought in $ 47 million. As the MTV era in the 1980s popularized short numbers and soundtracks stuffed with music ("Flashdance"), movie musicals declined.

make expensive movies unless they think that they can be followed with more of the same pool. If "Here We Go Again" shows a level of success similar to "Mamma Mia!", Expect the spirits of development to come back.

Two other big-budget musicals will open later this year: Lady Gaga / Bradley Cooper's "A Star Is Born" remake and sequel "Mary Poppins Returns." If the first is a success, do not be surprised by a follow-up with Lady Gaga. And an exceptional cast joins the film "Cats" by Tom Hooper's director, Tom Hooper, Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift, James Corden and Ian McKellen. Whatever happens with these musicals, "Mamma Mia!" Has opened the way.

The remake of "Beauty and the Beast" was not a sequel, but it offered more appeal for the brand. This is one in a long series. Disney is already at work on a new "The Lion King". The genre accords with industry standards after all.

2. The musical plays worldwide

"Chicago" in 2002-03 caught 44 percent of its gross proceeds abroad. "Mamma Mia!" Scored 76 percent. This share puts it at the top of all the films released in 2008. That year, the two biggest national successes – "Dark Knight" and "Iron Man" – made more than half of their sales in domestic crude. Even a huge international franchise like the Bond "Quantum of Solace" has reached 71% of foreigners.

More than any other factor, foreign attraction has given life to the recent musical renaissance. Look at the three recent successes. "The Land" was a staggering domestic success ($ 156 million). But this American film from Los Angeles has almost doubled abroad ($ 300 million). "Beauty and the Beast" was the second largest national release of 2018 to more than 500 million dollars. Although its share is a little lower (60%), foreigners have delivered 760 million dollars more. "The biggest Showman"? A huge domestic success – $ 170 million – added $ 260 million more to the international

. None of these films match the usual stereotype of sequel / franchise / action / male appeal of what works overseas. These three films, with "Mamma Mia!", Have as many differences as there are similarities.

Finally, the attraction of the foreigner leads the cinema in the studio. That musicals across the table work will make future sequels more likely.

3. Musicals attract women

"The Greatest Showman" opened just before Christmas, with a gross only a tiny fraction of its final domestic total. But her initial audience was an astounding 73 percent. Her world audience would also have been mainly female. "Beauty and the Beast" was a 72% female opening day.

These are huge shares of audience. At a time when women have boosted "Wonder Woman" and their lack of interest has spawned big-budget domestic disappointments like "Transformers" or "Pacific Rim Uprising" and "Skyscraper", women's craze for kind gives a huge boost. This will help "Here We Go Again", as well as those coming out later this year.

Laurie Sparham

"Beauty and the Beast" and "The Greatest Showman" share an important distinction: a PG rating. Most of the blockbusters are PG-13 (which includes both "Mamma Mia!" Movies and "The Land"), some are R. PG is not a death kiss for traditional moviegoers . In the 60s and 70s, when musicals were in decline, they were often rated G, which hurt them.

PG-films attracts a large group of casual buyers, mostly with families. Animation films and musicals, including the upcoming "Mary Poppins Returns", have the ability to draw on them with the more benign and unrestricted PG notation. And it worked.

We'll see if "Here We Go Again" reproduces other recent successes. But its positioning as an alternative to mid-summer comics and other action / adventure stories led by VFX could be a winner. And in difficult times, musicals can be a welcome escape.

Film musicals were once a dominant boxing force. In 18 years from 1961 to 1978, six musicals ("West Side Story", "My Fair Lady", "The Sound of Music", "Funny Girl", "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Grease") were ° 1 films of their years, with "Mary Poppins" in the reissues pushing it higher than anything except "The Sound of Music".

It was a different time. The first five were traveling exhibitions, that is, exclusive, higher priced, multi-month presentations with reserved seats. This put them next to big-budget epics like "The Ten Commandments", "Ben-Hur" and "Lawrence of Arabia" to a position that is reminiscent of Marvel's films or Star Wars as the most anticipated movies of their time.

It was a long time ago. Musicals, which date back to days of silence (with orchestras that save movies with familiar songs), have been a staple for decades. Their golden age varied since the early 1930s (Busby Berkeley and Astaire-Rogers) and then flourished at MGM (Arthur Freed, Vincente Minnelli, Donen-Kelly). In the late 1950s, adaptations to Broadway took precedence over the originals that were previously the norm. Then rock and roll came, movie that really embraced years later in short videos

I hope we will see more musicals for decades to come.

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