15 of the best movies based on Broadway musicals — and 10 of the worst

The movie musical has always been a huge part of Hollywood, but in recent years, it's been a bit of a rough road. A movie musical hasn't won best picture at the Academy Awards in over 20 years, since "Chicago" in 2003.

Thankfully, "Wicked" seems to be turning the tide, earning rave reviews from critics and fans alike.

Including "Wicked," here are 15 of the best musicals-turned-movies.

People have been trying to make a film adaptation of "Wicked" happen since at least 2010, Deadline reported. The musical, which debuted on Broadway in 2003, is the fourth-longest-running musical in Broadway history.

While it's certainly been a long wait, it was worth it. "Wicked Part One" is a faithful adaptation of the musical's first act. Every song you love is there, lovingly recreated and performed by actors Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, and more.

The scope of the musical has been leveled up using practical sets, hundreds of dancers, and well-placed CGI.

Any fan of "Wicked" should be pleased by this film — and don't be shocked if it ends up picking up a few Oscar nominations.

Next up: "Wicked Part Two," out November 21, 2025.

Based on the 1975 stage musical about two murderous women directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse, "Chicago" remains an important, beloved, and most importantly, meme-able film.

"They both reached for the gun" was inescapable on TikTok this year, 22 years after the film's release.

"Chicago" onstage is a relatively bare-bones production — the set is all black and brought to life with dancers. The film adaptation completely changes this, bringing all the iconic locations like the Cook County Jail, the courthouse, and numerous jazz clubs to roaring life.

Performances by Catherine Zeta-Jones (who won an Oscar for best supporting actress), Renée Zellweger (nominated for best actress), Richard Gere, John C. Reilly (nominated for best supporting actor), and Queen Latifah (nominated for best supporting actress) all helped make this movie the awards and box-office juggernaut it became.

In total, it won five Oscars from 13 nominations (including best picture) and grossed over $300 million worldwide.

"Cabaret" — another Bob Fosse musical — was a contender for best picture of 1972 at the Oscars.

It didn't win, but it did take home eight statues, including best director for Fosse, best actress for Liza Minnelli, and best supporting actor for Joel Grey.

"Cabaret," which is based on a 1966 musical, has themes that still resonate today. The plot focuses on the events in and surrounding the Kit Kat Klub, a cabaret nightclub in Berlin in the late 1920s. As Nazi fascism begins its rise to power outside the walls, performers and guests can pretend that everything will be OK inside the Kit Kat Klub.

The movie makes significant changes from the musical, excluding whole plots and characters, but it doesn't detract from its power. The most significant change is the addition of the song "Maybe This Time," sung by Minnelli as Kit Kat performer Sally Bowles. The song has become an iconic theater staple and has even been added to every subsequent revival of the show.

"Dreamgirls" is based on the 1981 stage musical of the same name, which in turn is loosely based on the rise of Diana Ross and the Supremes in the '60s and '70s.

The music is what makes this movie worthy of a watch, with stellar performances by Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé (as Ross), Eddie Murphy (who was nominated for an Oscar), Anika Noni Rose, and, most of all, Jennifer Hudson.

Hudson, who made her acting debut and won an Academy Award for this film, is, to put it lightly, electric. Just watch her performance of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" and try to find any flaws.

The first movie adaptation of the 1957 musical "West Side Story" is not without its faults. Natalie Wood, a white actor, was cast to play Maria, who is Puerto Rican — and she didn't even sing her own songs, she was dubbed over by Marni Nixon. In fact, most of the actors are dubbed over in at least one song.

But the film in its entirety is still breathtaking. Its music (written by Stephen Sondheim), choreography, set design, performances, and cinematography still hold up 63 years later.

And that's all without mentioning the legendary Rita Moreno, who became the first Latina to win an Academy Award for her performance as Anita, a young woman who wants to accept New York City as her new home, but finds it nearly impossible.

"West Side Story" won best picture at the 1962 Academy Awards.

If you can overlook the problematic elements of its time, this film is worth the watch.

The 2021 remake of "West Side Story" may be even better than its predecessor. First of all, the casting of actual Puerto Rican actors cannot be overstated — thank you, Steven Spielberg, for introducing mainstream audiences to Rachel Zegler and Ariana DeBose.

(DeBose won an Oscar for playing Anita — Anita is only the first character in history to be portrayed in multiple Oscar-winning performances.)

Second, almost everyone in this film has a beautiful voice and fills up the screen — again, thank you, Spielberg, for casting Mike Faist.

This film is not without its controversies either: Ansel Elgort was accused of sexual misconduct in 2020, a year before its release, which he denied.

Still, it's been rightly hailed as one of the best movie musicals of all time and was nominated for best picture at the 2022 Oscars.

At this point, the film adaptation of "Grease" is more famous than the 1972 stage musical due to the iconic performances of John Travolta, Olivia-Newton, Jeff Conaway, and Stockard Channing.

Plus, the movie cuts out all of the original musical's subpar songs and adds bangers like "Hopelessly Devoted to You," "Grease," and "You're the One That I Want."

"Grease" was so beloved at the time of its release that the soundtrack was the No. 2 bestselling album of the year, according to Billboard.

"The Music Man" is very faithful to its source material: the 1957 stage musical. In fact, the film was directed by Morton DaCosta, who also directed the stage production, which is why it was so similar.

Songs like "76 Trombones," "Ya Got Trouble," "The Wells Fargo Wagon," and "Shipoopi" are classics of the stage for a reason, so seeing them on the big screen on a huge scale is nothing short of jaw-dropping.

Moviegoers agreed — it was the fifth-highest-grossing film of 1962, according to The Numbers, and was nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards.

"Little Shop of Horrors" is an interesting case — it's based on the Off-Broadway musical from 1982, which is turn based on a non-musical film from 1960 titled "The Little Shop of Horrors."

In a cinematic world so filled with CGI, it's satisfying to see the giant puppet of Audrey II (a carnivorous flytrap-esque plant with a taste for humans) interacting with stars Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene.

Director Frank Oz has the absurd tone of this story down perfectly, and the songs by Broadway legends Howard Ashman and Alan Menken hold up today.

"Les Mis," as it's known by fans, is a musical of epic proportions, spanning decades in 19th-century France. It's based on the 1980 musical of the same name, which has been running in London since 1985. That makes it the longest-running musical in West End history.

This movie has some critics, especially regarding the vocal performance of Russell Crowe as Inspector Javert.

It was a smash success at the box office, grossing $442 million worldwide, and nominated for eight Academy Awards, including a win for Anne Hathaway as Fantine.

Seven years after the musical premiered in 1964, a film adaptation of "Fiddler on the Roof" debuted in cinemas and instantly became one of the most beloved movie musicals ever. According to The Numbers, it was the No. 2 film at the box office that year.

Even though this isn't the most universal story — a group of Russian Jews living in a small village in 1902 as they deal with pogroms — the themes of family, growing up, falling in love, religion, and intolerance are still applicable today.

"Hairspray" stars John Travolta, Zac Efron, Michelle Pfeiffer, Amanda Bynes, Queen Latifah, Elijah Kelley, James Marsden, Brittany Snow, Christopher Walken, and Nikki Blonsky in the film adaptation of the 2002 musical (which itself was based on n 1988 comedy).

This film is camp at the highest level, and the songs are earworms 17 years later.

It was nominated for three Golden Globes for best comedy/musical, best actress (for Blonsky), and best supporting actor (for Travolta).

"Wicked" isn't the first musical that Jon M. Chu has directed — in 2021, he directed the cinematic adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda's first musical, "In the Heights."

While the film was a box-office disappointment (though its release during the pandemic wasn't ideal), this movie was a hit with critics and the people who actually saw it, with a 94% score on Rotten Tomatoes from both critics and audiences.

"In the Heights" was a way for more people to see themselves represented in musicals in a non-tragic way — the other most famous musical about Latinos is "West Side Story" which, while great, is fundamentally a tragedy. "In the Heights" is a joyful experience to watch, with love and care for its characters shining out of every frame.

"Funny Girl" introduced us to Barbra Streisand. Enough said.

Not really, but "Funny Girl's" lasting legacy is, of course, its star. When it premiered on Broadway in 1964, it made Streisand a star of the theater. And four years later, when she reprised the role of comedienne Fanny Brice on the big screen, she won her first Academy Award.

Hey, Mr. Arnstein, indeed.

Even though Marlon Brando can't really sing, the 1955 adaptation of the 1950 musical is delightful.

The other three stars (Jean Simmons, Vivian Blaine, and most importantly, Frank Sinatra) more than make up for Brando's lack of talent, and he's so charismatic that we don't mind much anyway.

The viewing public in 1955 agreed. According to Variety, "Guys and Dolls" was the highest-grossing movie of the year.

Not every movie musical gracefully transfers the magic of live theater to the big screen.

The main problem with "Cats," based on the 1981 musical, is that it's horrifying to look at. Watching people dressed up as cats onstage makes sense, but trying to actually turn actors into cats onscreen using "digital fur technology" sends viewers headlong into the Uncanny Valley.

The plot of "Cats" is barely comprehensible in the musical, but when transferred to a film, it's even worse. We'd only recommend watching "Cats" if you're in the mood for a laugh.

There's a lot to be said about the marketing of the "Mean Girls" musical movie. Specifically, it wasn't marketed as a musical, leaving people to think that a studio was (unnecessarily) remaking the 2004 film.

Instead, this is a movie adaptation of the 2017 musical, which itself is based on the 2004 version.

Frankly, the music in this isn't all that good. Reneé Rapp, of course, is wonderful as Regina George, but the rest of the cast is largely forgettable, and the production changes made from stage to screen upset some fans.

This is the first movie musical on this list to star James Corden, though it won't be the last. "Into the Woods," perhaps Stephen Sondheim's most well-known musical after "West Side Story," originally premiered on Broadway in 1987.

The original cast was recorded and that performance is available to stream, which we'd highly recommend instead of this adaptation.

The biggest issue, again, is that the actors simply don't have the vocal chops. Corden, Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Billy Magnussen, and Johnny Depp are all decently talented singers, but Sondheim's music is notoriously difficult for even the most skilled singers.

It was a rough day to be Ben Platt, the titular Evan Hansen, when the trailer for this film dropped on the internet. Jokes were flying about his age (he was 28 playing a 17-year-old), his wig, and the content of the movie, which has been relatively controversial since the musical premiered in 2015.

Platt's performance onstage was critically acclaimed and earned him a Tony Award, but the histrionics that worked well onstage didn't translate to the silver screen, which usually requires a more subtle touch.

The film ended up bombing, grossing $19 million against a $27 million budget.

"Phantom of the Opera" remains the longest-running musical of all time, and was on Broadway from 1988 to 2023.

That means it has generations of fans who are attached to the musical and might have high expectations for a film adaptation.

Unfortunately, the Joel Schumacher-directed adaptation was a bit of a let-down. Some people felt the main problem was that Gerard Butler, who plays the Phantom, was just too handsome for the role.

"Rock of Ages," based on the 2005 musical of the same name, was first and foremost a box-office bomb. It grossed just shy of $60 million, making it one of the biggest bombs of star Tom Cruise's career.

Speaking of Cruise, people seemed to take the biggest issue with his performance. "Rock of Ages" is a jukebox musical consisting of '80s hits, which requires a huge vocal range. Cruise, talented though he may be, does not have the vocal talent needed.

"The Prom" is the second musical adaption to star James Corden on this list, though his role in this one is more controversial. "The Prom" is based on the 2018 musical of the same name. It's the story of a lesbian teenager in middle America who defies her school's PTA by wanting to bring a female date to prom.

In the film, Corden plays a flamboyant, stereotypical gay character, which is problematic in and of itself — but the fact that Corden himself is straight adds another complicated layer.

As Business Insider's Frank Olito pointed out, LGBTQ teens can "experience disillusionment and confusion" when seeing straight actors play queer characters, and noted that there were plenty of gay actors who could've played the role.

Redditor Yoyti described the issues with "Carousel," the adaptation of the 1945 musical about a romance between an amusement-park barker and a mill worker, perfectly. "It's bad in an insidious way," they wrote, adding that "the changes made to the script, and the direction, turn it entirely on its head and turn a subtle and heartbreaking musical into the horribly problematic thing."

Writer Mark Robinson also wrote that "the stage magic had to be drained to create a film that was of reasonable length."

The 1975 musical is about a group of chorus dancers who are trying everything they can to secure a dancing job before injuries or aging prevents them from dancing again.

As one of the stars from the musical, Kelly Bishop, later said, director Richard Attenborough seemed to misunderstand this.

"It was appalling when director Richard Attenborough went on a talk show and said 'This is a story about kids trying to break into show business.' I almost tossed my TV out the window; I mean what an idiot! It's about veteran dancers looking for one last job before it's too late for them to dance anymore. No wonder the film sucked," she said.

The film adaptation of a story about hippies in Vietnam War-era New York City makes many changes to the 1968 musical of the same name, much to the chagrin of its creators, Gerome Ragni and James Rado.

According to the book "The Age of Hair: Evolution and Impact of Broadway's First Rock Musical," the creators don't even consider it a real adaptation.

"Any resemblance between the 1979 film and the original Biltmore version, other than some of the songs, the names of the characters, and a common title, eludes us," they said.