DoTheDood said: "Terracentric said: "My guess is we have The Greatest Showman film and soundtrack to thank and/or curse......Without The Greatest Showman's success, I don't think there would've been sold-out arena shows, an unusually early ticket sales date, and higher than usual ticket prices."
That's ignoring the he's the biggest superhero star of the past two decades and got an Oscar nom for leading the movie adaptation ofLes Misérables. I do think TGS helped, yes, but I don't think that is the first thing most people think about when they think Hugh Jackman."
Yes, 2017 was his biggest year ( apart from 2006 when 6 of his movies were released which included The Prestige and The Fountain and XMen-3)! LOGAN ( $ 619 million in the box office) and THE GREATEST SHOWMAN ($ 435 million in the box office, excluding the home video/streaming sales) were his two film releases. He filmed them one after another ( he was screen-testing his leading ladies for Showman while filming Logan in New Orleans). It is his versatility which is appealing. Film and theatre and now concert stage...and even the occasional hosting of the Tonys/the Oscars/Global Poverty Festival! Action, drama, musicals, rom-com and sci-fi! He has had success in most film genres.
Btw, The Greatest Showman soundtrack was certified triple Platinum in the USA and was reported to be the best-selling album worldwide in 2018, outranking all other pop music stars. It did win a Grammy for the soundtrack and Hugh Jackman as principal artist.
Hugh Jackman is an Oscar short ( he did get nominated for Les Misérables) of attaining an EGOT stature. And he has been awarded a Tony/Emmy/Grammy for performing in different types of the performing arts.
His next project for filming after his tour and before Music Man is a romantic sci-fi thriller - bringing together his past successes in many genres-- it is called REMINISCENCE ( Black List script by and to be directed by Westworld's Lisa Joy-Nolan and supported by WarnerBros).. By the way, his upcoming indie film called BAD EDUCATION to be released on HBO has just had a record-breaking deal at the Toronto International Film Festival ( supposedly purchased in the $ 17.5 to $ 20 million range).
So, there are many concrete reasons why people may want to see Hugh Jackman on stage. It is not just his musical theatre or concert stage fame that are bringing in the audiences. Who knows - some of them may be Wolverine fans who still cannot get over that he has left the character in his film choices now?
Of course, to each his own!
Updated On: 9/17/19 at 09:52 PM