Top 10 Movies Based on Musicals, Ranked
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EDIT: Updated Nov 22, 2024
What makes a good movie musical adaptation? I could go on for hours, but I’ll just say this: What works on stage does not always work on the big screen. Stage musicals and movies typically have different narrative structures. The best movie musicals tweak and adapt their structure to suit the fast-paced expectations of the moviegoing audience.
This Top 10 list only contains movies that were stage musicals prior to their film release. So movies like An American in Paris, Moulin Rouge, Beauty and the Beast, Mary Poppins, and The Lion King are not eligible.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
MATILDA THE MUSICAL (2022) and IN THE HEIGHTS (2021) both made successful leaps from stage to screen, maintaining the original productions’ pizazz while adding cinematic flair. And THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE (1983) is the very model of a not-so-modern major musical.
The original version of this list had Tick, Tick… Boom! (2021) in the tenth spot.
TICK, TICK… BOOM! (2021)
Andrew Garfield’s portrayal of Jonathan Larson is both inspiring and tragic, but its exploration of one man’s creative process is a cinematic wonder (not unlike Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz). A fitting and well-done directorial debut for Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Standout number: “Louder Than Words”
Best song: “Louder Than Words”
10. THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)
This movie should be called The Sound of Julie Andrews— few performers command the screen the way Ms. Andrews’ Maria does. Though it may be corny and a tad simplistic, there’s no denying that this Von Trapp family tale has sung and danced its way into becoming an all-timer.
Standout number: “Do-Re-Mi”
Best song: “Edelweiss”
9. CABARET (1972)
The success of Cabaret lies not only in its excellent performances (Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey) and sharp direction (Bob Fosse), but in its depiction of pre-WWII Berlin as a cautionary tale. Its sad ending and controversial portrayal of Nazis certainly push the envelope, although the stage musical is more provocative and impactful. Still, well done, mein herr.
Standout number: “Mein Herr”
Best song: “Cabaret”
8. SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET (2007)
Attend the tale! Tim Burton and Stephen Sondheim are a match made in heaven. This slasher musical is a thematically rich, gritty and genuinely thrilling adaptation of its source material. The bleakness and the beauty of the musical is enhanced by almost every aspect of the production. If I had a dollar for every time Johnny Depp played a character with a penchant for cutting, I’d have two dollars (Edward Scissorhands)… I wonder how many of Mrs. Lovett’s human meat pies I could get for $2…
Standout number: “Johanna (Reprise)”
Best song: “A Little Priest”
7. WEST SIDE STORY (1961)
Gee, Officer Krupke, this film has it all! This musical has everything: star-crossed lovers, extended dance sequences, a Bernstein/Sondheim score, 10 Oscars, and… brownface? It’s a one-of-a-kind musical that translates well on the big screen, thanks to directors Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins. Deep down inside, this film is good. (It is good, it is good!)
Standout number: “Gee, Officer Krupke”
Best song: “Tonight”
6. FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (1971)
Fiddler just outside the top 5… sounds crazy, no? But here in this little film by Norman Jewison, you might say every one of the cast members is a “fiddler on the roof,” trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple story without breaking their necks. This timeless, resonant family drama is just as affecting on screen as on the stage. And how does it keep its resonance? That I can tell you in one word… Tradition!
Standout number: “To Life”
Best song: “If I Were A Rich Man”
5. WEST SIDE STORY (2021)
Before I saw this movie, I asked myself: why would renowned director Steven Spielberg take one of the most iconic movies of all time and remake it? Now that I’ve seen it, I don’t want to imagine a musical movie canon without it. It’s a no-brainer that one of the greatest Hollywood directors would put his mark on one of the Broadway greats. It may have been a flop in theaters, but its superior quality is a testament to both its story and storytellers.
Standout number: “America”
Best song: “Tonight”
4. HAIRSPRAY (2007)
It’s big, blonde, and beautiful movie musical. Who knew that the progressive dream of white allyship could be this entertaining? None of the Marc Shaiman and Scott Whitman songs miss, and the film’s pitch-perfect cast (introducing Nikki Blonsky) both celebrates and elevates its timely message. You can run and tell that.
Standout number: “You Can’t Stop the Beat”
Best song: “You Can’t Stop the Beat”
3. LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1986)
Faust gets the camp treatment in Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s brilliant musical. Its scrappy B-movie and Off-Broadway roots are present throughout, but director Frank Oz’s movie pulls out all the stops. Musical sequences get the deluxe treatment, with gorgeous set pieces and some of the most elaborate and impressive puppetry ever captured on film. The plant sang “Feed Me,” and honey, she ATE and left no crumbs.
Standout number: “Mean Green Mother from Outer Space”
Best song: “Suddenly Seymour”
2. WICKED (2024)
Let us rejoicify! After languishing in development hell for almost two decades, the Broadway blockbuster’s film adaptation roared to life in 2024, and it was well worth the wait. Director Jon M. Chu directs a swankified epic that defies expectations as much as it defies gravity, but the thrillifying performances from Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande carry this heartfelt story through its nearly 3-hour first act. Nobody, in all of Oz, no sequel that there is or was, is ever going to bring Wicked: Part 1 dooooooown!
Standout number: “Dancing Through Life”
Best song: “Defying Gravity”
1. CHICAGO (2002)
The GOAT of movie musicals is based on the 1975 Kander & Ebb and Bob Fosse musical. Unlike many other movies on this list, Chicago holds a special distinction of making its stage counterpart look amateur in comparison. Director Rob Marshall gives us a massive serving of the ol’ razzle dazzle, paced perfectly, and helped by a magnificent cast: Reneé Zellweger, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, John C. Reilly, and the fabulous Catherine Zeta-Jones. This spectacular satire is the most recent movie musical to win the coveted Academy Award for Best Picture, and they certainly had it comin’.
Standout number: All of them, but “We Both Reached For The Gun”
Best song: “Cell Block Tango”