“La La Land” may sweep you off your feet, but you will realize it is not even the best musical when we will tell you which musical films are the most successful of all time.
Making a musical film is quite tough because you need to have capable artists who are great at both acting and singing. The songs and the messages delivered by them are very important for the story to hold on to its meaning. So, you will not find groundbreaking musicals as easily as you may find films of different genres. But still we have been blessed with a few brilliant musical films over the history of the mainstream film industry.
“The Sound of Music” is an obvious name in the most successful musicals list. This Julie Andrews starred movie was the top grossing movie of 1965 and also won both Best Director and Best Picture Oscar. “The Wizard of Oz” is another key member of the list because of its capacity to bring the Land of Oz to life so brilliantly. Judy Garland’s excellent acting as Dorothy also got rewarded with an Academy Juvenile Award, a rare achievement for any actor aged under eighteen. The modern day adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, “West Side Story” has managed to win ten Oscars and it is still a record for a musical film. A few other most memorable musical films are “Singing in the rain” that portrays the struggles of silent movie stars adapting to change in the movie-making styles, quirky and lovely “My Fair Lady” starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison and soothing “Mary Poppins” featuring Julie Andrews once more.
There are few other excellent musical films that have captured the hearts of both the critics and the audience. You can check them out at Insider Monkey’s list titled 10 Most Successful Musical Films of All Time.
