Mamma Mia! tops Hairspray as the Third Highest Grossing Movie Musical of All Time

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=musical.htm

1. Grease
2. Chicago
3. Mamma Mia!
4. Hairspray

There is something about undeserved success that really.. irks me.

Yes, but when you really take a look at their cost to their profit ratio, they really aren't that successful. Other than Grease, that is. Especially not compared to the real list, which I've posted. I mean, Mary Poppins was the Number 1 film of 1964, The Sound of Music was the number 1 film of both 1965 and 1966, that's how successful it was. All the films on the real list were the number 1 films of their perspective year. Other than Grease, none of those other films were anywhere near number 1. It's a very misleading list.

Regardless of what you think about the merits of Mamma Mia! the movie, its success is great for the genre. Between Grease in 1978 and Chicago in 2002, no movie musical grossed over $70 million at the US box office. (not including animated films, of course) Now, in less than 2 years, we've had 3 musicals(Dreamgirls, Hairspray, and Mamma Mia!) that have grossed over $100 million. Movie musicals have shown that they can sell tickets, and hopefully there will be many more coming down the pipeline.

(By the way, the list at the original link only includes non-animated movie musicals since 1974, which is why The Sound of Music, etc are not included.)

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The post is titled "Third Highest Grossing Movie Musical" for a reason...it doesn't say "Tops Yearly List" or "Highest Number of Movie Tickets Sold." The fact is, it has the third highest gross of a movie musical. Everyone knows movie tickets cost more these days, and inflation has occurred.

It's an accurate list for what it is a list of. Your list would be labeled "adjusted for inflation," and would be looked at differently. There isn't one list to rule them all.

Johnboy obviously doesn't care, so anything we say is nothing to him.

This list is 1974-Present, which is why many of the musicals you named do not make the list.

This is the real list for that specific time period. Get over yourself.

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Yes, it's true that list does not take inflation into account. However, there were no DVDs, cable viewings, or On Demand when The Sound of Music and others came out. All that stuff goes into the profit mix nowadays, and it's very important. If DVDs did not exist and cable TV was not around (or the Internet for that matter), you can bet Mamma Mia's gross would be even higher (ie, more people would have attended). Plus, movies ran many, many months in theaters back then. Yes, it is not accurate to compare this gross with older movies, but it is also not fair to dismiss the fact the Mamma Mia has performed phenomenally at the box office. Measure it against its contemporaries--right now it is the 13th highest grossing movie of 2008 in the US. Worldwide, it is the 8th highest grossing movie of 2008.

When adjusted for inflation (based on box office mojo) the top 5 highest grossing non animated musicals are as follows:

1 -The Sound of Music ($1,008,300,900)
2 - Mary Poppins ($553,527,300)
3 - Grease ($544,606,000)
4 - My Fair Lady ($424,800,000)
5 - West Side Story ($396,269,600)

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm

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Updated On: 8/21/08 at 11:04 PM

Plus, movies ran many, many months in theaters back then.

Yes, on one screen per city. One.

To be honest, HSM3 being successful is fair game.

Its the younger generations Grease, let them have fun with it.

Plus, because it's being released in theatres and will have a massive budget...i'm hoping that they will go all out and show that they deserve the hype. From clips I've seen already, it looks far superior to its prequels.

"Plus, because it's being released in theatres and will have a massive budget...i'm hoping that they will go all out and show that they deserve the hype. From clips I've seen already, it looks far superior to its prequels."

I wouldn't call $13 a massive budget. It's actually rather pathetic.

If you notice, that Mojo list doesn't even include the Sound of Music anywhere.

They GOOFED big-time.

And I'm only impressed with how Mamma Mia is faring against other musicals in the past few years... because that's the only way you can compare them with the current ticket prices.

JohnBoy2 is right... the Sound of Music is one of the top 3 grossing movies of all time, musical or non.

Click on the "adjusted" link, if you want to open your eyes to the truth.

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OK, I'll play devil's advocate here. Since we've now been told the point of the post (or the expression highest gross) isn't meant to reflect its overall success, what then is the point of the post and the title if not meant to suggest that it is the third most successful? Why not just say then what you mean -- "due to the highest ticket price averages ever charged for a movie musical, Mama Mia brought in a lot more money than movies did when the ticket prices were cheap" If that's the POINT of the post, then why not just say it?

It's kind of hard to believe that the whole reason for posting such statements in the first place isn't to SUGGEST that it is therefore also the third most successful movie musical. Let's be honest about that.