From superhero franchises to Broadway adaptations, musicals were seemingly everywhere in 2024 movies. Whether it’s the unlikely sequel to Todd Phillips’s Joker or the cinematic adaptation of the musical Mean Girls, the genre was inescapable in 2024.
Going into 2025, it looks like the musical machine is still running smoothly. With that in mind, let’s take a look back at the musicals that dominated 2024 and answer the question: are musical movies here to stay?
Mean Girls (The Musical)
The first release of the year functions as a musical and a reboot, exciting fans young and old.
Mean Girls plays out the same way as the original movie. Cady Heron enrolls in a new high school, meets “The Plastics,” and befriends them. She learns about the Burn Book, which spirals out of control in her possession.
However, the 2024 reboot is different in some ways. For one, it’s based on the Broadway version rather than Tina Fey’s original screenplay.
Additionally, many fans felt that the focus was more on Regina than Cady. Musically, the lyrics weren’t that great, and references to the original movie felt forced.
The reception was mixed, with some finding enjoyment, but not completely. With a budget of $36 million, the film made $104 million at the worldwide box office.
Joker: Folie à Deux
Joker: Folie à Deux was all the hype throughout 2024.
A sequel to the 2019 film Joker, the second movie moves onto the next chapter in Arthur Fleck’s “Joker” persona. Arthur is now in Arkham Asylum for the previous crimes he committed. There, he meets Harley Quinn, who goes by Lee.
Lee forms a romantic relationship with Arthur, where they engage in the “art” of chaos together, break out into song, and go through his courtroom trial together.
Throughout the film, Lee and Arthur randomly break out into songs at times, leaving fans feeling confused and exhausted by the end of it.
Despite Phoenix and Gaga’s stellar performances, the film received a negative reception and grossed just $207 million on a budget of $200 million.
Not a good look for movie musicals. Until a certain witch swooped in…
Wicked
Years after the film’s announcement and production delays, Wicked came out with a bang, bringing a major wave of positive reception.
Wicked is based on the Broadway musical, which serves as an origin story for Glinda and The Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz.
A huge marketing budget, notable names, and internet memes brought popularity that was previously unheard of for movie musicals. This leaves the sequel, Wicked: For Good, on a positive note.
Wicked had a budget of $150 million and grossed $723 million worldwide, receiving an extra $70 million in the first week of its video-on-demand release.
Fans are hoping that Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo win their respective nominations for the ongoing awards season.
Moana 2
Disney’s sequel to Moana was finally released, originally written as a miniseries for Disney+ before developing into a feature film.
Moana 2 takes place after the events of the first film. In it, the titular character explores the island of Motufetu. She learns of the curse that was put on the island by the god named Nalo.
During the film, Moana enlists the help of Maui, her family, and friends to defeat Nalo’s curse on the island of Motufetu and raise it to become habitable again.
The film was released to mixed reception, with some criticizing that the songs weren’t as good as those from the original Moana. It was also noted that Lin-Manuel Miranda was not able to return to write songs for the sequel.
Regardless, the film still saw major box office numbers, breaking $1 billion worldwide. For Disney, this is another movie musical success.
Better Man
A biopic based on Robbie Williams of Take That fame sees the events of his life portrayed on screen–except, he’s the only one portrayed as a CGI chimpanzee.
It’s a different take on a biopic that may turn off viewers at first but saw great critical reception. This may be the start of a chimpanzee biopic trend we didn’t know we needed.
The film faltered at the box office, grossing $19 million worldwide with a budget of $110 million. Its lack of numbers could be based on region, where Williams is better known.
Williams isn’t a household name in the United States, contributing to a lack of interest from an American audience. However, he is much bigger in the United Kingdom.
The U.S. audience grossed $1 million, while the U.K. audience grossed $7 million, where he is a much bigger figure. Unfortunately, the fame Williams has tried to reach in the U.S. failed to hit the mark yet again.
Mufasa: The Lion King
Mufasa: The Lion King is a prequel/sequel to the live-action version of The Lion King (2019). Simba and Nala tell the story of Mufasa’s upbringing to their daughter, Kiara.
The story delves into Mufasa and Scar’s brotherly relationship when they were lion cubs, and what eventually led to the rivalry we’ve known about since we were kids.
Similar to Moana 2, it received mixed reviews but performed well at the box office. Its budget was $200 million and grossed $672 million worldwide.
Quickly after its release, memes spread, with viral TikToks and Tweets making the rounds about the song, “I Always Wanted A Brother.”
A Complete Unknown
A Complete Unknown was released five days before the New Year but still saw major success. Yet another biopic, this one is based on the life of folk musician, Bob Dylan.
Unlike Better Man, which seemed destined to fail with a worldwide audience, A Complete Unknown was almost guaranteed to succeed. Bob Dylan is more universally known, which led to higher box office numbers and reception.
With a lower budget of between $50-$70 million, the film came just shy of grossing $100 million, with its best reception coming from the United States.
Additionally, Chalamet’s stellar acting credits over the last few years led to more eyes on the movie, especially from younger fans.
Chalamet recently performed three of Dylan’s songs on the January 25th episode of Saturday Night Live, and received a Best Actor nomination at the Oscars.
Since the 2024 season of movie musicals is over, will 2025 shape up to be the same way?
Wicked: For Good: Will It Succeed?
Wicked: For Good releases at the end of 2025, continuing the story from the first film and serving as a cinematic version of Act II from the Broadway musical.
We can expect that it will take place right after the events of “Defying Gravity,” where Elphaba and Glinda experience more obstacles in their friendship and an appearance from Dorothy.
Along the way, some crazy twists will be in store for those who’ve never seen Wicked before. Who knows, maybe director Jon M. Chu will throw his own surprises into the film.
Michael: The Michael Jackson Biopic
Another biopic is on the way and one that was always bound to happen. Michael is a musical biopic based on the life of Michael Jackson.
Jaafar Jackson, Michael Jackson’s nephew, will be playing the role of his uncle. From a few sneak peeks, fans are freaked out by how much Jaafar transforms into his uncle.
A release date is set for 2025, but it could be pushed to 2026 due to ongoing reshoots.
Snow White: Disney’s Next Opportunity
Riding off the success of Moana 2 and Mufasa: The Lion King, Disney’s next live-action will be Snow White.
The film has seen controversy and box office predictions are appearing below average. With a budget of up to $270 million, opening weekend is projected for $70 million.
Rachel Zegler and Gal Gadot are the main stars of the film, playing Snow White and the Evil Queen respectively. It will act as a remake of the original animated film.
Will the film’s controversies help or hinder Disney after its end-of-year successes? Only time will tell.
To that end, that’s all we know about 2025’s musical movie releases. There is no doubt that 2024 was the year of the musical, and with the number of musicals lined up for 2025, this year could be the same. Either way, the 2020s may go down in history as the year when musical movie trends dominated.
