With the fourth interpretation of A Star is Born (2018) being released this week the musical genre has seen more releases in the last seventeen years than ever before. Before 2001 the genre was in decline and dominated by Disney’s animated musicals with Beauty and the Beast (1991) being the sole musical film nominated for ‘Best Picture’ at the Academy Awards in over ten years and no musical film has won since Oliver! (1968) (the same decade which saw four musicals win ‘Best Picture’).
Musicals films haven’t been prolific since the 70s with only Evita (1996) managed to do better than average with the box office takings and awards success. Grossing over $50 million in the U.S. and $141 million worldwide (an amount not reach since Grease in 1978), Evita earnt three Golden Globes and one Oscar for Best Original Song during its award season.
However, the genre was on the verge of a renaissance with Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! (2001), an original film that was to become not only a box office success but also a cultural phenomenon that would benefit from Awards season and cement its’ stars A-List status.
This essay will look at how Moulin Rogue! opened the door to the musical genre once again that saw Broadway adaptations trapped in development hell turned into Oscar winners, original musicals gathering large audiences and even a musical film winning the once elusive ‘Best Picture’ Oscar.
Come and Get Me Boys
Loosely based on the ‘La Dame aux Camélias’ (1832) and merged with the opera ‘La Traviata’ (1833), Moulin Rouge! had a limited U.S. release on May 18th 2001. Grossing over $57 million in the U.S. and a worldwide total of $179 million, Moulin Rouge! was not only the most successful live-action musical in decades but also the twenty-second highest of the year.
Starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, the film went onto win three out of six Golden Globes (the most nominated film of the year) and was nominated for eight Oscars including Kidman’s first for Best Actress. Most significantly, Moulin Rouge! was the first live-action musical nominated for ‘Best Picture’ at the Oscars in over twenty years.
The narrative of the film is part-original, part-jukebox musical set in the twentieth century whilst heavily featuring post-modern aspects. With musical numbers consisting of songs from Nat King Cole, Nirvana and Elton John; the use of such eclectic music created a film set in a particular time without classifying it as a period film.
When asked about the music for Moulin Rouge!, Luhrmann remarked:
The song choices were not about 'wouldn't it be groovy?' or 'wouldn't it be fun?'. Firstly, the idea of modern music in a period setting is a very old idea. Judy Garland did it. It's popular music. It helps the audience understand and connect with character and story. (BBC, 2001)
This style of film-making also saw the musical genre take a darker turn which was then evoked in the films that followed. Moulin Rouge! resurrected the musical genre, making it become not only a commercial success but also taking back its dominance in the awards circuit and garnering critical acclaim going onto to see its most successful period since the Golden Age of Hollywood. The success of Moulin Rouge! greenlit many films stuck in development including many films that were based well-known Broadway and West End productions.
Not only did Moulin Rouge! revive waning Broadway shows but it also encouraged musicals that would thrive on the success of both jukebox musicals and original narratives. Audiences relished what Moulin Rouge! had to offer and its success not only helped musical orientated cinema but created a film that is still passionately enjoyed by audiences today including a Broadway production based on the film.
All That Jazz
Following Moulin Rouge!, film adaptations of beloved Broadway productions were quick to enjoy the new wave success for the musical genre including high profile releases of theatre shows including; Chicago (2002), The Phantom of the Opera (2004), Rent (2005) Dreamgirls (2006), Hairspray (2007), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) and Nine (2010) all to various levels of critical and commercial success.
Arguably the most successful of those films was Rob Marshall’s Chicago. A film adaptation of Chicago had been in progress since the 1980’s when Bob Fosse (the original Broadway writer and choreographer) was set to direct having won ‘Best Director’ for Cabaret (1972) three years before Chicago become a Broadway show. Fosse had hoped to cast Madonna as Roxie Hart, Michelle Pfeiffer as Velma Kelly and Jack Nicholson as Billy Flynn but ultimately died before realising his vision.
However Fosse was given a credit in the film adaptation as his distinct style echoes in the choreography. Also, the casting of Chicago also revived the trend to use well-known actors in musical adaptations by casting the likes of Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere in the principal roles. Like Fosse, Marshall hired known stars for his film and the supporting cast was also filled with previous Chicago Broadway actors and big-name stars including Queen Latifah who went onto earn her only Oscar nomination for her role as Matron “Mama” Morton. This trend would continue in future musicals by casting stars such as Beyoncé (Dreamgirls), Zac Efron (Hairspray) and the entire cast of Nine. In retrospect, Moulin Rouge! had cast actors who weren’t necessarily A-List actors in Hollywood or perhaps hadn’t reached their career peak. Nicole Kidman was arguably a known actress in America but was yet to fully step out of the shadow of her ex-husband Tom Cruise. Her Moulin Rouge! era of films saw her being taken as a serious actor and she would go onto earn three more Oscar nominations after her first from Moulin Rouge!.
Despite never hitting the number one at the U.S. box office the film went onto earn $170 million domestically and over $300 million worldwide – out grossing Moulin Rouge!. Chicago went onto win six out of thirteen Oscars at the 75th Academy Awards including ‘Best Picture’ which hadn’t been won by any musical since Oliver! in 1969.
Although Chicago was a triumph in cinema, a musical film based on a Broadway show wasn’t always a guaranteed success. Released in 2004, The Phantom of the Opera was poorly received by critics and its box office total was less than Moulin Rouge!. It managed to score three Oscar nominations but no wins despite Andrew Lloyd-Webber composing a new song for the adaptation having previously won for the same category with Evita. A year later, Rent (2005) was released with mediocre reviews and failed to break even at the box office despite most of the original cast reprising their roles from the much-loved Broadway show.
Disregarding the recent failures, Dreamgirls, another high-profile Broadway adaptation was already in production. With double the budget of Rent, this would be the biggest budget for an all-black starring cast which included; Beyoncé, Eddie Murphy and introduced Jennifer Hudson in a role that would see her win an Oscar for ‘Best Supporting Actress’.
Directed by Chicago’s screenwriter Bill Condon, the film had also been production hell since the 1980s when Whitney Housten was expected to star in what became Beyoncé’s role. Thanks to Moulin Rouge! opening the door for Broadway and West End adaptations becoming commercially successful in the cinemas, the awards success was still limited as critics were still hesitant to fully accept the genre again. The musical had seen a renaissance since 2001 but it would take more than just a successful theatre transition to be fully rewarded at the Oscars. Dreamgirls was the most nominated film at the Academy Awards that year, it did not earn a nomination for ‘Best Picture’ but neither would another musical film that followed in the next few years. In the meantime, audiences lapped up the genre again and films such as Hairspray, Sweeny Todd… and a Muppets reboot were all financially successful films despite receiving little or no awards attention.
Money, Money, Money
Another successful Broadway adaptation kickstarted a popular subgenre of musicals. The ‘Jukebox Musical’ is a type of musical that uses a popular music to drive the narrative opposed to original songs created specifically for the theatre show or film. Moulin Rouge! was a jukebox musical because it created medleys of popular songs to tell the story of a love-struck couple in 1900s Paris. Based on the 1999 West End show, Mamma Mia! (2008) used this musical style to full effect by creating an original story around the music of Abba.
The use of well-known songs in musicals captured the publics taste for feel-good nostalgia and the appetite to hear a good tune. The film went onto become the highest grossing musical worldwide at the time with $609 million and became the highest grossing film ever in the United Kingdom.
Seven years after the release of Moulin Rouge!, Mamma Mia! revitalised the musical once again and was a subgenre that became most popular after the its release in 2008. Mamma Mia! earnt three Golden Globe Nominations, three BAFTAs and would eventually spawn a sequel exactly ten years later despite the mixed reviews from critics.
Perhaps the reason why Mamma Mia! was so successful was because it was a film that targeted female audiences. Whilst most musicals have a universal appeal that can relate to both men and women, Mamma Mia!’s narrative focused on a woman over forty, the bond between Mothers and Daughters and a film representing female friendship marketed to be viewed by groups of women.
Playing the central role of Donna in the adaptation, Meryl Streep, comments on the success:
I know the studio was gobsmacked by its success but I wasn't. It was a no-brainer… I knew it would do well because it was aimed at an audience that has been neglected, by film makers, in recent years. Women are the last group anybody ever cares about. (The Telegraph, 2009)
Noting that woman isn’t always favoured when choosing a target audience, Streep notices that the film’s success was helped by female audiences turning up. She refers to this audience as being ‘neglected’ so if films such as Mamma Mia! are created for women then it shouldn’t be a surprise that they are successful.
This could also be the reason why male-orientated jukebox musicals haven’t been able to capture the same success. Rock of Ages (2012), Jersey Boys (2014) and Get on Up (2014) all failed to capture similar success and all grossed under $70 million worldwide. Telling the story of The Four Seasons, Jersey Boys lacked star power besides Clint Eastwood’s director status. The same could also be said for Get on Up and it would seem 80s pop/rock anthems weren’t creating any nostalgia for the Rock of Ages audiences despite crediting with Tom Cruise’s first musical role.
Perhaps the films themselves weren’t to blame, but perhaps female audiences played a large role in the success of the musical genre. Another female led jukebox musical, Pitch Perfect (2012), managed to gross over $100 million worldwide and create a franchise that would eventually gross over $380 million worldwide over the course of three films. Pitch Perfect managed to use both decade old songs and current chart toppers to create an original jukebox musical that encompassed many of the female stories represented in Mamma Mia! and were left out of films such as Rock of Ages, Jersey Boys and Get on Up. Often musicals are released against blockbuster action films as a way of generating money by focusing on female audiences. Mamma Mia! was released the same weekend as The Dark Knight (2008) grossed over $130 million less in the U.S. on the first weekend, Mamma Mia! still managed to become the fifth highest grossing film of 2008 eclipsing both Iron Man and James Bond.
We’re Breaking Free
As stated before, Disney’s animated musicals were arguably the most popular of the musical genre during the 1990s. ‘The Disney Renaissance’ was a phrased used to describe this period from The Little Mermaid (1989) up to Tarzan (1999). It was known as the renaissance as it would celebrate animated film-making that was both critically and commercially successful like earlier Disney classics such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), Bambi (1942) and The Jungle Book (1967).
The late 80s and 90s saw a renewed interest in Disney which wasn’t evident after a slump in poorly received films. Similarly, Disney did not make another animated musical in this period after Tarzan as the box office for the films were declining with each release and attention was growing on Pixar animation who were enjoying the successes of Toy Story (1996), A Bug’s Life (1998) and Toy Story 2 (2001).
After an absence of four years, Disney found unlikely success in television movies. In 2003 The Cheetah Girls premiered on the American Disney Channel to over 6.5 million viewers (the largest audience figures for an original film), spawning two sequels and three soundtracks which achieving multi-platinum status.
Although The Cheetah Girls were undoubtedly a success, the channel was about to witness a new phenomenon when High School Musical premiered in 2006. Debuting to 7.7 million viewers in America and a soundtrack that sold over 7 million copies worldwide the first film created stars out of its main actors that hadn’t been seen since Grease. The plot evolved from a Romeo and Juliet style narrative that was actually a script that was intended for “Grease 3” starring Disney channel alumni’s Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake.
A sequel, High School Musical 2 (2007) debuted to over 17 million American Viewers and the soundtrack sold over 6 million worldwide. The success of the first two films saw the third film released theatrically, generating the best opening weekend for a musical ever and its eventual worldwide box office out-grossed both Moulin Rouge! and Dreamgirls worldwide.
Disney followed this by starting new franchises with the likes of Camp Rock (2008), Teen Beach Movie (2013) and Descendants (2015) also being watched by millions and their respective soundtracks charting alongside the biggest music stars with a third Descendants movie expected in 2019.
Disney’s success followed back onto the big screen and was replicating the same pop culture phenomenon of its renaissance period. The studio once again created the same interaction with cinematic releases and the music that they were doing in the 90s. The Princess and the Frog (2009) would become Disney’s last traditionally animated film before CGI animation would become the norm but the film grossed less than Tarzan had ten years prior.
Released a year later, Tangled (2010) grossed almost $600 worldwide and earnt an Oscar nomination for ‘Best Original Song’ but it would be the follow up, Frozen (2013) that would be met with more acclaim. The film went onto gross over $400 million dollars in the U.S. and became the fifth highest grossing film of all time with almost $1.28 billion.
Part of the success of the film was its accompanying soundtrack and standout number “Let It Go” which won ‘Best Original Song’ at the Oscars along with a win for ‘Best Animated Feature Film’. ‘Let It Go’ was originally released by Demi Lovato hoping to replicate the success of the renaissance period where Disney hired known singers to release pop versions of the lead song. However, it was the film’s original recording by Idina Menzel that was more successful and sold millions of copies worldwide.
Ken Bunt, president of the Disney Music Group said of the achievement:
You don’t really want to go out [first] with a clip of the film…Did we know it was going to become a phenomenon, like it has? No. You can’t really plan for that…But we definitely knew we had a special film with incredible music that was emotional. (Rolling Stone, 2014)
The songs success was replicating its cinematic release with each medium helping the other to enjoy the continued success of another Disney phenomenon.
Since the release of Moulin Rouge! in 2001 Disney was able to revisit that musical again and after solid starts from Tangled, Frozen reaffirmed its dominance in the genre. The studio continued its streak with follow up Moana (2016) earning two Oscar nominations but losing ‘Best Animated Feature Film’ to another Disney film, Zootopia (2016), and lost ‘Best Original Song’ to fellow musical La La Land (2016).
With a Tangled TV Series, a Tony nominated Broadway adaptation of Frozen and a cinematic sequel expected next year, the Disney musical is becoming one of the strongest in both musical films and cinema as a whole. Pixar Animation Studios (under the Disney brand) are also developing musical films with their most recent effort, Coco (2017), winning both ‘Best Animated Feature Film’ and ‘Best Original Song’ repeating the achievement of Frozen.
The musical genre was reaching a younger audience again departing from the darker styles of Moulin Rouge!, The Phantom of the Opera and Sweeney Todd… whilst also moving towards the original musical once again. Broadway adaptations weren’t being released as rapidly anyways as the most popular ones had already been translated into film. The genre only had the last adaptations not yet released and newer Broadway and West End shows that were still selling out crowds in the theatre.
I Dreamed A Dream
Whilst Disney was continuing their success in cinemas and on TV, the few Broadway adaptations left and original musicals were about to dominate the box office and awards season again.
A film adaptation of Les Misérables (2012) was pivotal in seeing the return of the musical genre at awards shows. Based on the West End show Les Misérables cast both Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway who were originally considered for The Phantom of the Opera but both dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Les Misérables went onto win three Oscars out of eight nominations including Hugh Jackman’s first Oscar nomination and Anne Hathaway’s first win. Once again, the musical genre was providing a boost to the actors’ careers by giving them the awards exposure they hadn’t previously received in the same way Moulin Rouge! had done for Nicole Kidman. Possibly the most important nomination for the film was for ‘Best Picture’ becoming the first nomination since Chicago’s win ten years before. The accompanying soundtrack to Les Misérables peaked at number 1 in both the U.S. and the U.K. showing that the traditional musicals were firmly back in both mediums both critically and commercially.
Into the Woods (2014) quickly followed the success of Les Misérables. Directed by Rob Marshall (Chicago) and starring Meryl Streep (Mamma Mia!), Anna Kendrick (Pitch Perfect) and Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd…). The film gathered equally strong reviews proved to be an improvement on Rob Marshall’s last musical and cinematic mis-fire, Nine. Into the Woods was also a commercial success but failed to reap as much awards attention as Les Misérables gaining three Oscar nominations including a record 19th nomination for Meryl Streep but no nomination for Best Picture.
Aside from Les Misérables and Into the Woods, Broadway adaptations were few and far between making Les Misérables and Into the Woods anomalies in the musicals genre. Soon, it would be the original musical that would dominate.
Released in 2016, La La Land became a global spectacle. The film paid homage to previous musicals including Moulin Rouge!, Grease, West Side Story (1961) and most obviously Singin’ in the Rain (1952). La La Land went onto gross over $400 million worldwide placing it in the top ten highest grossing musicals ever. The soundtrack peaked at number one in the U.K. with its score winning ‘Best Original Score’ at the Oscars and “City of Stars” picked up the ‘Best Original Song’ award beating fellow La La Land song “Audition”. Overall La La Land won six Oscars out of a record tying fourteen nominations including a ‘Best Actress’ win for Emma Stone, replicating the success musicals had on the actors.
The musical genre was showing once again that the Academy will award the success of the actors in musicals with nominations for stars such as Emma Stone, Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep but was still hesitant to offer the ‘Best Picture’ award preferring to acknowledge a dramatic film instead. La La Land was the favourite to win ‘Best Picture’ picking up the award at the Golden Globes and BAFTA but caused a controversy at the 89th Academy Awards when Faye Dunaway accidentally announced La La Land as the winner of ‘Best Picture’ over eventual winner Moonlight (2016).
Following on from the success of the new wave of musicals was Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (2017) an adaptation of its animated counterpart. Over the last seven years Disney had been adapting animated classics with live action versions beginning in 2010 with Alice in Wonderland. Directed by Chicago screenwriter and Dreamgirls director Bill Condon, the film would see the largest audiences for a musical ever by debuting to almost $175 million on its opening weekend in the U.S.. The film went onto earn over $500 million domestically and $1.263 billion worldwide eclipsing Grease’s record gross as the most profitable live action musical.
This wave of original musicals was also coming back strongly after La La Land with the “Spotify” audiences looking for a musical soundtrack that they could consume. Evita and The Phantom of the Opera all began as concept albums and once they became hits, they were developed for the West End and Broadway.
However, instead of developing Broadway shows, the accompanying soundtrack of new musicals were giving extended life to musicals in the cinemas most evident when looking at the success of The Greatest Showman (2017). Written once again by Bill Condon film starred Hugh Jackman as P. T. Barnum with songs written by La La Land duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Although debuting to a disappointing $8 million opening weekend in America, the next five weekends earnt more at the box-office and the film went onto gross over $400 million with its U.S. box office eclipsing Chicago, La La Land and Les Misérables. Perhaps the reason for this was its chart-topping soundtrack which spent a total of 11 consecutive weeks at number one in the UK, twenty in total and eventually was replaced by the soundtrack to the Mamma Mia! sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018). The songs from the accompanying soundtrack were reaching audiences worldwide propelling the film’s longevity in the cinemas. Films are becoming more reliant on the soundtrack of the film as with The Greatest Showman. Had the soundtrack not found the success it has, would the film have survived as long in the cinema?
The current cinema climate can see a films financial chances being solely judged on the opening weekend so if the soundtrack isn’t received well then perhaps the musical film could join the list of musical box office bombs. With this, one could still argue that the initial success of the musical in 2001 from Moulin Rouge! was still evident 16 years later. Moulin Rouge! had opened the door to musicals again and Les Misérables, La La Land and Beauty and the Beast had left the door wide open for new musicals to come and be as celebrated as they had been since the start of the century.
Overture
Now we are seeing the musical come full circle as Moulin Rouge! is getting a Broadway adaptation that is due to premiere in 2019 has had a successful workshop period starring Les Misérables’ Aaron Tveit as Christian. Broadway musicals are still getting adapted with the highly anticipated Wicked due to go into production and another interpretation of West Side Story expected to be directed by Steven Spielberg also announced. Debuting worldwide this week, A Star is Born is the latest high-profile release of a musical film. Starring music icon Lady Gaga and Oscar Nominee Bradley Cooper the film uses original music to retell the story first told in 1937. The soundtrack has already released a lead single “Shallow” which is already topping music charts before the film has been released. A Star is Born has already received universal acclaim from critics and is strongly expected to do well during the upcoming awards season.
Disney are continuing its run of success an adaptation of Aladdin (1992) expected next year. Aladdin will follow Beauty and the Beast’ formula of using songs from the animated film but also including original material to boost the film and it’s soundtrack’s chances of success. This is also seen in theatre adaptations such as Les Misérables earning a ‘Best Original Song’ nomination for “Suddenly” creating a new experience for the audience and boosting awards chances as seven of the categories winners coming from musical orientated films since Moulin Rouge!. Song writing duo Pasek and Paul are now hired to write songs for the upcoming Aladdin, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Medusa showing that the musical is yet to stop, and we still have years of inventive and original songs to enjoy even when the films themselves are adaptations of well-known stories.
The genre has also seen many actors win awards for their musical roles after Nicole Kidman received a nomination for ‘Best Actress’ and the Academy has given more support for Musicals since Moulin Rouge!’s ‘Best Picture’ nomination. This contradicts the Academy’s previous perception of musicals with Evita failing to earn any major category nominations despite winning both ‘Best Motion Picture’ at the Golden Globes in 1997. With Chicago winning ‘Best Picture’ a year after Moulin Rouge!’s nomination and La La Land equalling the record for most nominations in a single year, musicals will often also score nominations in the craft categories and therefore become one of the most nominated films of the year. Even a poorly received musical film such as The Phantom of the Opera can expect some nominations despite being considered a failure.
Since the release of Moulin Rouge! we have seen the genre change in many ways including opting for nationwide distributions such as A Star is Born progressing from the limited expansions given to Moulin Rouge!, Chicago and Dreamgirls. Although A Star is Born will deliver Lady Gaga’s biggest acting role to date, the genre is also using well known talents to bring audiences to the films whereas, musicals in the earlier part of the decade such as Moulin Rouge! and The Phantom of the Opera cast lesser known actors who were yet to have career peaks. The films are becoming fan favourites and cultural phenomenon’s with previously unknown actors becoming some of the most bankable actors in the film industry. The likes of Zac Efron (Hairspray, The Greatest Showman) might not have had the career he does if it wasn’t for High School Musical. Similarly, the musical genre might not have achieved the success it has if it wasn’t for Moulin Rouge! or perhaps it would have to wait longer to find the right audience for the musical genre to take centre stage once again.