Yet again - Is the Movie Musical Dead?

Even at the heighth of the movie musical popularity, there were some bombs, right?

Yes, but I'm scurious if we don't see some kind of replay of what happened in 1930, when after a glut of bomb musicals, the Hollywood studios decreed that they were box office poison. Whatever musicals were in production were mostly shorn of the music and released as comedies instead. It wasn't until 1933 that film musicals got the boost they needed with Warner Bros. 42 ST.

And later bomb musicals from the '30s and '40s were absorbed by the studio system, like any other failed product.

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I don't think it will be the critics that decide if the musical movies are successful or not. What are the box office numbers for POTO like? If they're big, which I expect they are, then it really doesn't matter whether or not it is a critical success.

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# 10

imdb.com

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I wanted it to do better...

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Keep in mind that POTO is still only in limited release...the real test will be when it opens wide in the coming weeks. Calling it a "bomb" is premature.

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I don't think it is dead at all. I mean, Phantom of the Opera wasn't a flop. Beyond the Sea and De-Lovely are movie-musicals, but they are a completely different genre. Just because some people think that "Phantom of the Opera" is "crap-tastic" it is doing quite good in the box office. Besides, its not stopping producers, since we can look forward to "Rent" and "Bat Boy," and like you said, "The Producers." "Asphalt Beach" is another one, although it will be originally coming out in the movie, much like "Moulin Rouge." I don't think people would be so willing if the movie musical was "dead."

Well, it really depends of the version of JCS you see. One sucks, the other is pretty good. The Chorus Line movie is good in its own respect. I mean, it and the musical should be separated a bit, but its great for getting people started on musicals.

Whatever happens i just know I will LOVE 'Asphalt Beach'....im sorry but Kristin Chenoweth with Andrew Lippa.....its gonna be a top hit in my book...it is already!!!

Oh my. I didn't know that my love for Chorus Line would add a crack in both of yours' abnormal and unproportional egos. There is no good or bad, all is dealing with opinion. I think you are just going to have to cope with the fact that some people in this world appreciate the hard work people put in to make movies like the Chorus Line. Perhaps some people have grown up singing the classic tunes with their piano and watching the movie bright-eyed and entranced. If you have not yet found a comfortable state and have not yet calmed down, I highly recommend a place called "anger management," where we learn to appreciate other people's points of view and to absorb the world around us with unbiased eyes.

How can the movie musical be dead when only 2 real movie musicals have openened since this new "age of movie musicals." BEYOND THE SEA hasn't even really opened yet, and DE-LOVELY was awful. Both aren't even real movie musicals, so I believe your use of those movies as an example isn't relevant. Even if they could be considered movie musicals, one hasn't even really opened yet. Make that two - PHANTOM and BEYOND THE SEA haven't really opened yet. And comparing PHANTOM of CHICAGO, they appeal to completely different people. Regular movie goers were attracted initially to chicago, if not for the show itself, for the great buzz surrounding it and the amazing cast, not to mention the sudden interest in the idea that movie musicals could make a comeback. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA doesn't appeal to everything, as is dismised by many non-theatre fans as boring or just "opera." I know for a fact that many people think it's "boring" or "gay" when they probably haven't even heard one song or seen one scene about it. I know people that think like that, and it's sad. There's no way PHANTOM will have the box office power that CHICAGO had, but we'll discuss that when it opens nationwide. To even ask if movie musicals are dead because of 2 non-musical movie flops, and some negative buzz surrounding one movie, I don't think you really need to ask this question. With a handfull of movie musicals lined up, they are anything but dead.

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I never understood the logic behind opening up so many movies in so short a time. Peoples time & budgets are limited during the holidays. Too many movies vying for a finite amount of dollars & customers

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