The 35 Best Musicals Of All Time – Armessa Movie News

Summary

• Grease (1978) is one of the most popular musicals of all time, with a beloved soundtrack and a story of high school love overcoming obstacles.
• Enchanted (2007) is a Disney movie that combines animation and live-action, with Amy Adams portraying a fairy tale princess in real-world New York City.
• Dreamgirls (2006), based on the rise of Motown and the Supremes, features a star-studded cast including Beyoncé, Jamie Foxx, and Jennifer Hudson, and received eight Oscar nominations.

What are the best musicals of all time? The movie musical is an entertainment staple that has transcended generations. While not every film in the genre becomes a classic, there are many musicals with legacies that continue to live on in the hearts of viewers. There have been acclaimed musicals since the start of the movie industry, as the first actual “talkie” (a movie with actual talking and dialogue instead of words printed on the screen) was a musical called The Jazz Singer. While this movie remains problematic in today’s society, it was a monster success at the time and set the stage for the world of musicals that followed.

Over the years, the best movie musicals included names like Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Julie Andrews, Catherine Deneuve, James Cagney, and Judy Garland. These featured fantastical stories, romantic comedies, movies with dramatic social issues at the forefront, and even historical epics. While live-action musicals took a bit of a hiatus after a series of award-contenders in the 1990s and 2000s, they saw a slight resurrection in the 2010s and an even bigger one in the 2020s. With everyone from icons like Steven Spielberg and newcomers like Damien Chazelle pushing the genre, the best musicals of all time have plenty of new contenders to the crown.

RELATED: The 50 Best Movies of All Time

35 Grease (1978)

One of the most popular of the best musicals in movie history arrived in 1976 with Grease. There might not be a musical movie that has more songs sung in karaoke bars than this John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John release. The movie has Travolta starring as high school bad boy Danny Zuko who falls for good girl Sandy Olsson but they struggle to keep their love intact with obstacles in their way. “Hopelessly Devoted to You” picked up an Oscar nomination for Best Song and the soundtrack is one of the best-selling of all time. Despite the weird Grease ending, it also entered the National Film Registry in 2020 and had a sequel in 1982 and a prequel TV series in 2023.

34 Enchanted (2007)

Enchanted was a Disney movie that deconstructed its own animated movie history. After starting out as an animated movie, a ruthless queen wanting to protect her throne uses magic to prevent her stepson from taking the throne when he marries by banishing the woman he loves, Giselle, to the real world. Becoming a live-action musical, Amy Adams stars as Giselle, as she struggles to keep her fairy tale aspirations alive in the mean and cruel New York City. The movie had an impressive three tracjs nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars. It also spawned a Disney+ sequel called Disenchanted in 2022.

33 Dreamgirls (2006)

• Release Date:
  December 15, 2006

• Director:
  Bill Condon

• Runtime:
  130 minutes

• Cast:
  Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson, Danny Glover, Anika Noni Rose

• Stream now on DirecTV

Four years after he wrote the Oscar-winning musical movie Chicago, Bill Condon wrote and directed the musical Dreamgirls. Like Chicago, the movie was based on a Broadway musical, in this case, a fictional retelling of the actual history of the rise of Motown and the Supremes. It also tracks the rise of R&B music in America in the 1960s and 1970s through the story of a fictional group called The Dreams. The cast was spectacular, with Beyoncé Knowles, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, and an Oscar-winning Jennifer Hudson at the forefront. The movie picked up eight total Oscar nominations.

32 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street (2007)

The original Sweeney Todd was a stage musical by Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler originally released in 1970. There was a 1982 television release of the stage play, but in 2007, Tim Burton directed a musical movie version of the story. Johnny Depp starred as Sweeney Todd, an English serial killer who wants revenge on a crooked judge (Alan Rickman) who falsely convicted him, so he could steal his wife. With the help of Mrs. Lovett (Helena Bonham Carter), Todd became a barber and set up his plan of vengeance. The movie was a box office success, making $153 million on a $50 million budget.

31 All That Jazz (1979)

• Release Date:
  December 20, 1979

• Director:
  Bob Fosse

• Runtime:
  123 minutes

• Cast:
  Roy Schneider, Jessica Lange, Ann Reinking, Leland Palmer

• Stream on Tubi

All That Jazz arrived in theaters in 1979, directed by Bob Fosse and telling the story of his life as a dancer, choreographer, and dancer. The basis for the story came from Fosse’s days trying to edit Lenny, while also staging the Broadway musical Chicago. Roy Scheider played the fictional version of Fosse, named here as Joe Gideon, who was editing a Hollywood movie and staging a musical called NY/LA. The movie ended up winning the Palme d’Or when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and then picked up nine Oscar nominations. It ended up reaching its biggest success when it entered the Library of Congress in 2001.

30 Little Shop Of Horrors (1986)

Released in 1986, Little Shop of Horrors was a musical comedy based on a 1982 off-Broadway musical of the same name that itself was based on a Roger Corman movie from 1960. Frank Oz (the voice of Yoda) directed the movie, which focused on a floral shop worker (Honey I Shrunk the Kids star Rick Moranis) who ends up with a carnivorous plant that needs human blood. The movie also had several cameos from Bill Murray, John Candy, Jim Belushi, and Christopher Guest. The movie has ended up as a cult classic, and it even got a director’s cut re-release in 2012.

29 Funny Girl (1968)

• Release Date:
  September 18, 1968

• Director:
  William Wyler

• Runtime:
  149 minutes

• Cast:
  Barbara Streisand, Omar Sharif, Kay Medford, Anne Francis

• Stream on Prime Video

Funny Girl was a 1968 musical that starred Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice, a real-life Broadway and film star, and it focused on her relationship with Nicky Arnstein (played by Omar Sharif). Streisand played the same character in the Broadway musical of the same name, and this was actually her film debut. It was a huge debut for the star, as she picked up an Oscar for Best Actress for her performance. The movie itself ended up as the highest-grossing movie of 1968 and ended up added to the Library of Congress in 2016 as one of the best musicals of all time.

28 Lagaan: Once Upon A Time In India (2001)

• Release Date:
  June 15, 2001

• Director:
  Ashutosh Gowariker

• Runtime:
  224 minutes

• Cast:
  Aamir Khan, Gracy Singh, Rachel Shelley, Paul Blackthorne

• Stream on Netflix

In 2001, the Indian Hindi-language musical sports drama with Aamir Khan in the lead role. On top of being one of the best musicals of all time, it is also a historical epic taking place in 1893 in a village in Central India. The people of the village suffered through years of drought when a British Indian Army officer offered to play them in cricket as a wager to pay the taxes they owed. They have to learn the game and win to get out of debt. It had one of the highest budgets of any Indian movie but also enjoyed a massive box-office success. It picked up eight awards at the 47th Filmfare Awards and also picked up an Oscar nomination.

27 Once (2007)

• Release Date:
  March 23, 2007

• Director:
  John Carney

• Runtime:
  86 minutes

• Cast:
  Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová

• Rent on Apple TV & Prime Video

One of the more surprising musicals released this century arrived in 2007 with John Carney’s Once. The Irish romantic musical drama is about two struggling musicians living in Dublin. The movie was shot on a very small budget, at only $150,000, and then ended up making a big profit with $23.3 million at the box office (via Box Office Mojo). Once cast professional musicians as the leads, with Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, and then filled the movie with original songs. It won an Oscar for Best Original Song for “Falling Slowly” and was adapted into a stage musical after the movie’s success.

26 White Christmas (1954)

• Release Date:
  October 14, 154

• Director:
  Michael Curtiz

• Runtime:
  120 minutes

• Cast:
  Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Dean Jagger

• Stream on Netflix

One of the best musicals of all time is also one of the best Christmas movies ever made. Released in 1954, White Christmas is a Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye movie directed by Michael Curitz, who also directed the Golden Era musical Yankee Doodle Dandy as well as one of the greatest movies in cinema history, Casablanca. In this movie, Crosby stars as a former Broadway star and Kaye as an aspiring performer who becomes a popular duo after they served together during World War II. The musical features songs by Irving Berlin and a new version of “White Christmas.” A stage musical was adapted from the movie 50 years later.

25 An American In Paris (1951)

• Release Date:
  October 4, 1951

• Director:
  Vincente Minnelli

• Runtime:
  113 minutes

• Cast:
  Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant

• Stream on TCM

An American in Paris was a 1951 romantic musical movie that starred Gene Kelly along with newcomer Leslie Caron in her film debut. The movie is not only a rousing musical but also features much of Kelly’s dancing. Set in Paris, with music by George Gershwin, the movie was a huge success. It picked up eight Oscar nominations that year and won six of them including the top honor of Best Picture. It was also recognized years later when the Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry in 1993.

24 The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg (1964)

• Release Date:
  February 19, 1964

• Director:
  Jacques Demy

• Runtime:
  91 minutes

• Cast:
  Catherine Deneuve, Anne Vernon, Nino Castelnuovo

• Stream on Max & Criterion Channel

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg was a 1964 musical romantic drama that starred Catherine Deneuve and Nini Castelnuovo as two young lovers in the French city of Cherbourg. A French-language movie, this was a co-production of France and West Germany and all its dialogue is sung by the cast. The movie sees the main characters fall in love and have a romance before he is drafted into the Algerian War, and she ends up pregnant with their child. The movie won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and then went on to pick up five Oscar nominations.

23 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)

• Release Date:
  July 15, 1953

• Director:
  Howard Hawks

• Runtime:
  91 minutes

• Cast:
  Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell

• Rent on Apple TV & Prime Video

Marilyn Monroe starred in one of the best musicals of all time in 1953 with Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. This was a musical comedy directed by Howard Hawks (Bringing Up Baby) with Monroe and Jane Russell starring as two showgirls and best friends with Monroe’s Lorelei looking for wealthy men and Russell’s Dorothy preferring good-looking men. Based on the stage musical of the same name, the movie remains known for Monroe’s version of the song “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” and her glamorous pink dress, both of which remain pop-cultural phenomenons.

22 A Star Is Born (1954)

• Release Date:
  September 29, 1954

• Director:
  George Cukor

• Runtime:
  154 minutes

• Cast:
  Judy Garland, James Mason, Jack Carson, Charles Bickford

• Rent on Apple TV & Prime Video

One of the best musicals of all time which has received countless adaptations is A Star is Born. The first musical movie arrived in 1937 from William A. Wellman (Wings) and it was remade three times over the years with some huge stars in front of the cameras. In 1954, Judy Garland starred in the first remake, followed by Barbra Streisand in 1976, and then Lady Gaga in 2018. The best of the four movies arrived in 1964 with the Garland movie, directed by George Cukor (My Fair Lady). The movie about an aspiring singer hooking up with a declining star is a tragic love story. This version was added to the National Film Registry in 2000.

21 Top Hat (1935)

• Release Date:
  August 29, 1935

• Director:
  Mark Sandrich

• Runtime:
  101 minutes

• Cast:
  Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers

• Rent on Apple TV & Prime Video

One of the oldest of the best musicals of all time premiered in theaters in 1935 with Fred Astaire starring as a tap dancer named Jerry Travers who meets and falls in love with a woman in London, played by Ginger Rogers. With Astaire and Rogers becoming one of the best pairings in Hollywood musicals over the years, Top Hat offered the most successful movie from their partnership, with a $3.2 million box office on a $609,000 budget. The movie picked up four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. While it didn’t win, the movie was added to the National Film Registry in 1990, the second year the Library of Congress added movies.

20 The Greatest Showman (2017)

While most movie musicals are adapted from actual Broadway musicals, The Greatest Showman did something different by creating an entirely new musical for the big screen. The story was based on the life of P.T. Barnum, the historic businessman who created the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, and followed his struggles to get his circus off the ground. The Greatest Showman went on to become the fifth highest-grossing musical of all time (via Forbes). With original songs and epic dance numbers, the one thing holding it down when talking about the best musicals of all time was not picking up any Oscar wins.

19 The Blues Brothers (1980)

This ’80s comedy, based on The Blues Brothers recurring musical sketch featured on Saturday Night Live, tells the story of a convict and his brother who attempt to keep the Catholic orphanage they once lived in from closing its doors. They decide to accomplish this by getting their R&B band back together to earn the money. The film was both a critical and box office success, with many finding the humor and songs to be well-blended. The movie has since become a cult classic, warranted a sequel, and the original soundtrack sold over one million copies.

18 Hedwig And The Angry Inch (2001)

• Release Date:
  September 21, 2001

• Director:
  John Cameron Mitchell

• Runtime:
  92 minutes

• Cast:
  John Cameron Mitchell, Andrea Martin, Michael Pitt, Miriam Shor

• Rent on Apple TV & Prime Video

Hedwig and the Angry Inch earned its spot among the best musicals of all time thanks to its standing as one of the most iconic queer stories ever told. What made the movie work as well as it did was the fact the stage play director, John Cameron Mitchell, adapted the play to the big screen. What resulted was a Rocky Horror Picture Show for a new generation and one of the best musicals of all time. Mitchell also took on the title role in the movie, as he did in the play, as Hedwig, a soulful and provocative, yet funny and philosophical artist. The story is as much about gender and cultural identity as it is about heartache, winning a directing award for Mitchell and an audience award at the Sundance Film Festival.

17 In The Heights (2021)

In the Heights

Release Date

June 18, 2021

Director

Jon M. Chu

Cast

Melissa Barrera, Corey Hawkins, Leslie Grace, Anthony Ramos, Olga Merediz

Runtime

143 minutes

In The Heights was slated to be one of the biggest movie musicals of 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the movie kept getting pushed back until it was eventually released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max in 2021. Based On Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony Award-winning musical, In The Heights centers on Usnavi (Anthony Ramos), a bodega owner who dreams of a better life. The musical not only features beautiful song and dance numbers, but it also features a talented Latinx cast. Despite both high critical and audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes (both at 94%), it picked up no Oscar nominations.

16 Les Misérables (2012)

Les Misérables (2012)

Release Date

December 25, 2012

Director

Tom Hooper

Cast

Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Hugh Jackman, Sacha Baron Cohen, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried

Runtime

158minutes

• Rent on Apple TV & Prime Video

Les Misérables is one of the most iconic period musicals of all time, having been adapted from Victor Hugo’s novel. There are several adaptations, including standout movies in 1934 (arguably the best) and 1998 (with Liam Neeson), but the one that receives the most attention was the one released in 2012. This movie closely followed the Broadway musical, centering on Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), a prisoner who is freed and later becomes the guardian of young Cosette after her mother dies. With an all-star cast, the movie won three Oscars despite critics and audiences both discounting the story (69% and 79% on Rotten Tomatoes).