An interesting look at the rise and fall of movie musicals over the decades. Considers numbers of movies made, box office, critical acclaim and more. Worth a read if you're a fan of musicals or movies more general.
Some tidbits from the article:
- In the 1960s four of the Best Picture Oscar winners were live action musicals.
- Of the top 50 grossing films of all time, 11 are movie musicals (10 of which are Disney films).
- In the 1930s, around 10% of all films were musicals. Today, that number sits below 1%.
- There is a sustained drop in acclaim for films released following the 1970s (based on imdb ratings).
- Musicals are unable to produce the billion-dollar returns of action franchises, and they are not cheap enough to yield a modest profit, like that of low-budget horror films or prestige indie dramas. As such, the live-action musical is stuck in a middle ground of sorts—popular enough to hit on occasion but not a standard project for risk-averse studios
- Over the last twenty years, online searches for "Movie Musicals" have significantly decreased, despite a spike in 2016 likely spurred by Hamilton and La La Land and a slight increase in 2021 driven by Steven Spielberg's West Side Story.
Audiences are receptive to the format, with searches increasing in response to a breakthrough hit. And yet, in the absence of future musicals emerging within the zeitgeist, appeal may continue to wane. What's left is a chicken-or-the-egg problem. The genre needs more mainstream entries to stoke interest amongst average moviegoers; however, few producers want to gamble on a musical without pre-existing moviegoer interest.