Wicked: For Good has grossed $526.6 million worldwide in its first 11 weeks at the boxoffice, which puts it at No. 3 on Billboard’s list of the top-grossing films that are adapted from Broadway musicals. Our list is drawn from boxofficemojo.com’s running tally of the 1,000 top-grossing films of all time in terms of worldwide grosses.
Both Wicked: For Good and its predecessor, 2024’s Wicked, were adapted from the 2003 Broadway musical Wicked. The first Wicked film opened on Nov. 22, 2024. In just five weeks, it pulled ahead of Mamma Mia! to become the top-grossing film adapted from a Broadway musical. Wicked received 10 Oscar nominations on Jan. 23, 2025, including nods for both of its stars, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. It won two awards at the Oscars ceremony on March 2, 2025 — best costume design and best production design. Wicked: For Good was shut out in the nominations that were announced on Thursday Jan. 22.
Both Wicked and Wicked: For Good were directed by Jon M. Chu, whose hit-studded résumé includes a previous film adaptation of a Broadway musical, the 2021 movie version of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s breakout hit In the Heights.
Eight film adaptations of Broadway musicals appear on Box Office Mojo’s list of the top 1,000 films in terms of their lifetime worldwide grosses. One disclaimer about this list right at the top: The biggest blockbusters of earlier eras simply can’t match the grosses of today’s hits. (It’s not just your imagination that ticket prices are much higher than they used to be.) The Sound of Music has grossed $161.4 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo — not enough to make their list of 1,000 top-grossing films. But that 1965 adaptation of the 1959 Broadway musical is one of the biggest hits in film history. (Of course, back then a movie ticket cost less than a box of Raisinets does today.)
Our list does not include Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again, the Cher-featuring sequel to Mamma Mia!, on the grounds that it was really just a sequel to a hit movie. (The sequel did astonishingly well, with a worldwide gross of $395.6 million.) By contrast, Wicked: For Good had the same source material as Wicked — the 2003 Broadway show.
Here are the eight top-grossing film adaptations of Broadway musicals in terms of lifetime worldwide grosses.
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Hairspray
Image Credit: ©New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett Collection Film’s worldwide gross: $203.6 million
Soundtrack’s Billboard 200 peak: No. 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
Date film opened: July 20, 2007
Date Broadway show opened: Aug. 15, 2002
Music credits: Music by Marc Shaiman; Lyrics by Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman
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Into the Woods
Film’s worldwide gross: $212.9 million
Soundtrack’s Billboard 200 peak: No. 8
Stars: Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden, Anna Kendrick, Chris Pine, Tracey Ullman, Christine Baranski, Johnny Depp
Director: Rob Marshall
Date film opened: Dec. 25, 2014
Date Broadway show opened: Nov. 5, 1987
Music credits: Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
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Chicago
Image Credit: Miramax/courtesy Everett Collection Film’s worldwide gross: $306.8 million
Soundtrack’s Billboard 200 peak: No. 2
Stars: Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, John C. Reilly, Lucy Liu, Colm Feore
Director: Rob Marshall
Date film opened: Jan. 24, 2003 (earlier in selected markets)
Date Broadway show opened: June 3, 1975
Music credits: Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred Ebb
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Grease
Image Credit: Paramount Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection Film’s worldwide gross: $396.3 million
Soundtrack’s Billboard 200 peak: 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: Randal Kleiser
Date film opened: June 16, 1978
Date Broadway show opened: Feb. 14, 1972
Music credits: Music and lyrics by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey
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Les Misérables
Film’s worldwide gross: $442.8 million
Soundtrack’s Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (one week)
Stars: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen
Director: Tom Hooper
Date film opened: Dec. 25, 2012
Date Broadway show opened: March 12, 1987
Music credits: Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg; Lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer
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Wicked: For Good
Film’s worldwide gross: $526.6 million
Soundtrack’s Billboard 200 peak: No. 2
Stars: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Colman Domingo, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum
Director: Jon M. Chu
Date film opened: Nov. 21, 2025
Date Broadway show opened: Oct. 30, 2003
Music credits: Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
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Mamma Mia!
Image Credit: Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection Film’s worldwide gross: $706.7 million
Soundtrack’s Billboard 200 peak: No. 1 (one week)
Stars: Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Julie Walters, Dominic Cooper, Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski
Director: Phyllida Lloyd
Date film opened: July 18, 2008
Date Broadway show opened: Oct. 18, 2001
Music credits: Music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus
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Wicked
Film’s worldwide gross: $758.1 million
Soundtrack’s Billboard 200 peak: No. 2
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum
Director: Jon M. Chu
Date film opened: Nov. 22, 2024
Date Broadway show opened: Oct. 30, 2003
Music credits: Music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
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