Well, that was quick. Bad has been making history at the box office ever since it opened on November 22. The much-anticipated film adaptation of the 2003 Broadway musical has already grossed $372.9 million worldwide, trailing only three other films based on Broadway musicals.
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo star in the film, which was directed by Jon M. Chu, whose successful resume includes a previous film adaptation of a Broadway musical, the 2021 film version of Lin-Manuel Miranda's hit. In the Heights.
Seven film adaptations of Broadway musicals appear on Box Office Mojo's list of the top 1,000 films in terms of total lifetime worldwide. That counts Mamma Mia!a film adaptation of the 2001 stage musical based on ABBA's music, but not in its sequel with Cher Mamma Mia: Here We Go Againon the grounds that the latter was actually just a sequel to a hit movie, not a Broadway musical. (The sequel did surprisingly well, grossing $395.6 million worldwide.) Of course, not all sequels are guaranteed to be successful at the box office. Grease is here, but the 1982 sequel, Grease 2which grossed just $15 million worldwide, didn't come close. (Michelle Pfeiffer, its star Grease 2represented on this list by Hair spray.)
Wicked Part Two It is expected to be released on November 21, 2025. Will it follow its predecessor at the box office? If that happens, Chu will join Rob Marshall as the only two-film director on this list. Marshall directed both Chicago and Inside the Forest.
A disclaimer about this list right at the top: You can't really compare the grosses of movies from different eras. The biggest blockbusters of yesteryear simply can't match today's crass hits. (It's not just your imagination that ticket prices are much higher than they used to be.) The Sound of Music has grossed $159.5 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo – not enough to make the list of the 1,000 highest-grossing films. But this 1965 adaptation of the 1959 Broadway musical is one of the biggest hits in movie history.
Other film adaptations of Broadway musicals that have grossed more than $50 million worldwide but not enough to make the list include Dreamgirls ($155.5 million), the 2021 edition West Side Story ($76 million), My beautiful lady ($72.7 million) and funny girl ($52.2 million).
Here are the seven highest-grossing film adaptations of Broadway musicals. All appear on Box Office Mojo's list of the top 1,000 films by total lifetime worldwide.
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Hair spray
Image credit: ©New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett Collection
The film's worldwide gross: $203.6 million
The Billboard 200 Soundtrack Top: Number 2
Stars: John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes, James Marsden, Queen Latifah, Brittany Snow, Zac Efron, Elijah Kelley, Allison Janney, Nikki Blonsky
Director: Adam Shankman
Movie Start Date: July 20, 2007
Broadway opening date: August 15, 2002
Music by Marc Shaiman; Lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman
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Inside the Forest
The film's worldwide gross: $212.9 million
The Billboard 200 Soundtrack Top: No. 8
Stars: Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Tracey Ullman, Christine Baranski, Johnny Depp
Director: Rob Marshall
Movie Start Date: December 25, 2014
Broadway opening date: November 5, 1987
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
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Chicago
Image credit: Miramax/Everett Collection
The film's worldwide gross: $306.8 million
The Billboard 200 Soundtrack Top: Number 2
Stars: Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, John C. Reilly, Lucy Liu, Colm Feore
Director: Rob Marshall
Movie Start Date: January 24, 2003 (earlier in select markets)
Broadway opening date: June 3, 1975
Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred Ebb
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Bad
The film's worldwide grosses (so far): $372.9 million
The Billboard 200 Soundtrack Top: #2 (so far)
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum
Director: Jon M. Chu
Movie Start Date: November 22, 2024
Broadway opening date: October 30, 2003
Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
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Grease
Image credit: Paramount Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
The film's worldwide gross: $396.3 million
The Billboard 200 Soundtrack Top: No. 1 (12 weeks)
Stars: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway, Eve Arden, Frankie Avalon, Joan Blondell, Edd Byrnes, Sid Caesar, Alice Ghostley, Dody Goodman, Sha Na Na
Director: Randall Kleiser
Movie Start Date: June 16, 1978
Broadway opening date: February 14, 1972
Music and Lyrics: Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey
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Les Miserables
The film's worldwide gross: $442.8 million
The Billboard 200 Soundtrack Top: No. 1 (one week)
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen
Director: Tom Hooper
Movie Start Date: December 25, 2012
Broadway opening date: March 12, 1987
Music: Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyrics: Herbert Kretzmer
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Mamma Mia!
Image credit: Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection
The film's worldwide gross: $611.5 million
The Billboard 200 Soundtrack Top: No. 1 (one week)
Stars: Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Julie Walters, Dominic Cooper, Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski
Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Movie Start Date: July 18, 2008
Broadway opening date: October 18, 2001
Music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus
