THE GREATEST SHOWMAN : Publicity and Promotion

[jo]

Many Wolverine fans are of course a little sad ...or outright disappointed :

"Is this what you left WOLVERINE for??"


Some of course have tried to link LOGAN/WOLVERINE to BARNUM/SHOWMAN --


"MUTANT ROUGE!"



But it is truly ironic and not even intentional that a joyous movie musical ( THE GREATEST SHOWMAN) would follow the release of Hugh Jackman's most admired ( but dark) Wolverine portrayal in LOGAN. It just happened that way!

I thought an action/adventure movie to follow LOGAN would have been an easier transition for the most devoted fanboys/fangirls! Or if it had to be a musical, maybe the most logical would have been LES MISERABLES ( as it is dramatic and heroic)?

But in a sense the 180-degree turn was providential! It is now telling the whole world that Hugh Jackman is arguably the most versatile actor on film and on stage! LES MISERABLES gave us his dramatic acting talent combined with his singing ability in a muscular portrayal of a famous hero from literature and the performing stage. However, it was not a complete showcase of his triple threat versatility! Sing! Dance! Act!

I am hoping that THE GREATEST SHOWMAN is not just the title of a movie about P.T.Barnum but a true description of the actor/performer portraying him!

Hear! hear! AMPAS!!!


Jo

[jo]

This reviewer saw the last performance of the Ringling Bros, Barnum and Bailey Circus -- could his reaction to the trailer be less than happy at all

[jo]

There's been some proliferation on YouTube of THIS IS ME, with Keala ( extracted from the trailer), and the truncated version with Hugh in Sydney has been getting some online love ( I posted it on BWW). But if you want to see ( again) the full version by Hugh in Brisbane, you can fast forward to approx. 42'00" on this bootleg recording of the concert - sorry for the bad audio ( it gets a little better when Hugh starts singing), but it's great to hear another version.



I have a feeling this song is going to be a big popular hit!

Or maybe even a candidate for awards honors


Jo

[carouselkathy]

What year was this show in Brisbane?

[jo]

It was in December 2015.

[jo]

Some confusion about the movie being a musical!

The actors ( except for a brief glimpse of Keala, and a tiny glimpse of Hugh, both singing the final line of THIS IS ME) were not seen singing at all. Some did note the rooftop dancing by Hugh and Michelle. And a few noted ( it seems many missed the last frame) the message on the last frame saying that original songs were written by the Oscar winning lyricists of LA LA LAND) -- why they did not even mention the names of PASEK AND PAUL is beyond me *rolleyes*. You have the current Oscar and Tony songwriting winners... and you don't even want to publicize their names ??!!

LOL -- why are they not explicit about the movie being a musical? Because some people ( likely male audiences who favor superhero stuff) do not like movie musicals -- but maybe the name of HUGH JACKMAN can bring them to the theatre thinking this is a prequel to ORIGINS:WOLVERINE or a sequel to THE PRESTIGE

They had the same approach to the film adaptation SWEENEY TODD - highlight the drama rather than the music.

Les Miserables was too well-known to hide its musical identity, but they had Anne Hathaway singing I DREAMED A DREAM in the very first teaser. But even that was meant to highlight the plight of her character Fantine, which was more in aid of saying this is DRAMA/DRAMA/DRAMA!

For someone not familiar with THE GREATEST SHOWMAN ( and there were quite a few reviewers who admitted to that) -- the trailer came out as a family-friendly film with a positive and optimistic theme, with strong music in the background -- no outright scenes showing even Hugh singing a song! And from what I hear -- he has quite a few numbers

Do you think this conventional Hollywood marketing strategy for musicals trailers served the purpose ( hide the fact that it is a musical...and let the movie unfold as to its true nature once people are inside the cinema )??


Jo

[mamaleh]

I'm thinking a second trailer may give a few more hints that it's a musical by showing snippets of musical numbers. Just my supposition.

Ellen

[jo]

Moi aussi , Mme Ellen


Jo

[jo]

I found this refreshing post ( maybe from someone who could be a real circus performer himself or just someone who has been enthralled by the circus) among the approx. 8750 comments on Hugh's Facebook Page re the trailer of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN ( over 4.1 million views to-date) --

Fernando Garrido Prandini
We are a smile of a world of c(h)aos, we are a motivation to continue (to) live, we are a strange light in the darknes(s) and we change sad and crying faces for a new reason to be strong... we are the circus! BRAVO!

Jo

[mamaleh]

How poetic.

Ellen

[jo]

Another set visit report --

uk.movies.yahoo.com/greatest-showman-preview-hugh-jackman-seizes-moment-130124739.html

Set Visit
The Greatest Showman preview: Hugh Jackman seizes his moment

Tom Butler
UK Movies Editor
Yahoo Movies UK29 June 2017


Hugh Jackman is PT Barnum in this lavish new musical (20th Century Fox)


With his new musical ‘The Greatest Showman’ Hugh Jackman is cashing in the goodwill he’s amassed throughout his Hollywood career for a shot at cinematic immortality.

“I’m one of the very few actors who could have a chance of doing an original movie musical of this size,” Jackman recently explained to Yahoo Movies over coffee in a swanky London hotel.

“I’m aware that if I screw it up I’ll never get another chance again.”

17 years after ‘X-Men’ transformed Hugh Jackman from musical theatre star to Hollywood A-lister, the Aussie star has finally put his most iconic role behind him, sending Wolverine off into the sunset with his stunning superhero swansong ‘Logan’. Now he’s coming back full circle with ‘The Greatest Showman’, an original big budget movie musical, inspired by PT Barnum the inventor of show business.



Original movie musicals are rare nowadays (‘La La Land’ withstanding, more on that later) hence why it’s taken nearly eight years of development to get it off the ground. Jackman first started work on a Barnum biopic in 2009 with his Oscar-hosting producer Lawrence Mark but it was only after achieving closure with ‘Logan’ did the star have his ‘carpe diem’ moment.

“It was really three years later when the music started to come in and I thought ‘we’ve got something here’. That’s when the passion really started to go from there.”



Jackman, a Barnum scholar who professes to have read 37 books on the entertainment impresario, always knew his story was worth telling on the big screen. Born in 1810, Barnum rose from humble beginnings to become the most famous man in the world thanks to his travelling circus, and his pioneering work at the forefront of “show business”. Jackman likens him to the Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerburg of his day.

“In a way, it’s your classic rags to riches story,” Jackman said. “People know about Barnum as the guy who started the circus, but what people may not know is that in that time, what he created was considered almost criminal, degrading, disgusting.”



Keala Settle plays the Bearded Lady, unofficial leader of the Oddities, Barnum’s freak show (20th Century Fox)


“He the man who really contributed to the birth of modern America. People think America was always the place of the free, where it didn’t matter where you were born, but that’s not true. When he was born, it did matter what family, what your last name was, where you went to school, all that really mattered.

“After Barnum, it was imagination, talent, and hard work [that] were the markers for success.”




They knew they had a rollicking story to tell, but it was first-time feature director Michael Gracey who struck upon the idea of telling it as a musical. Hugh met Gracey while shooting a Lipton Ice Tea commercial (featuring a huge dance number of course) in 2010. Hugh promised they’d make a movie together someday and, good to his word, he sent him the script for ‘The Greatest Showman’.


Barnum made Tom Thumb a global superstar (20th Century Fox)


“I told Hugh, if you’re going to put ‘The Greatest Showman’ on the poster, you’ve got to play to your strengths. It should be a musical,” Gracey told us on the film’s Brooklyn set earlier this year.

“That naïve remark has cost me seven years of my life, because it’s so difficult to do an original musical.”
With the director in place, and a musical in mind, the next thing they needed were some actual tunes, which is where the stars (or city of them) really began to align for this movie.




Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (known together as Pasek and Paul) – the Oscar-winning ‘La La Land’ lyricists – were just jobbing songsmiths taking meetings all over Hollywood at the time in 2013 when the project wound up in their lap. A casual conversation during a meeting at Fox led the pair to meeting with Michael who pitched the movie to them with a “mood reel”, and they were immediately hooked.


Director Michael Gracey says Zendaya made Disney change her schedule so she could make this movie (20th Century Fox)


“We thought it was amazing,” Justin told us in New York. “The fact that a movie musical was being made on this scale, with this grandeur, and with Hugh Jackman – we knew we had to be a part of this.”


“[Michael] was really clear about wanting a score that felt contemporary, that felt like a mix of theatrical and also pop radio music, but also finding a way to make those work together.”


Drawing from a wide range of influences “from Ingrid Michaelson to Kanye, and everything in-between”, the duo have written nine original songs for the film, each serving a specific story purpose. The songwriting duo, who completed work on ‘La La Land’ while simultaneously developing ‘The Greatest Showman’, collaborated closely with Michael, Hugh, and the whole cast every step of the way.




For ‘The Greatest Show’, the song which which bookends the movie, the pair worked with Macklemore producer Ryan Lewis to “create the beats”, and it’s this thumping showstopper that opens the recent trailer.




Barnum opens his circus after finding success with a museum (20th Century Fox)


The trailer also reveals Hugh as Barnum in all his red-coated pomp and glory. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the razzle dazzle ringleader is his motley crew of circus “freaks” known as the Oddities.


The Oddities – including Tom Thumb, trapeze artist siblings Ann and WD (Zendaya and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), Dog Boy, a giant, a strongman, and more – are the heart and soul of this movie, serving as Barnum’s extended family who accompany him on his journey to the top.


Zendaya and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II play trapezing siblings Ann and WD (20th century Fox)

Standing front and centre in the Oddities is Lettie Lutz AKA the Bearded Woman. Drawing strength from 23-year-old Harnaam Kaur, a bearded British woman who recently signed with a modelling agency, Lutz is portrayed by 13-year Broadway veteran Keala Settle who landed the gig after impressing Fox execs at early readings.

After being bribed to perform by Gracey with a bottle of Jameson’s, Settle broke down during a grandstanding performance of Oddities anthem ‘This Is Me’ – the film’s big ‘Let It Go’ moment, also heard in the trailer – and former Fox chairman Jim Gianopulis stood up to hug her proclaiming: “you just booked your first major motion picture”.




Barnum discovers Lettie Lutz singing at a launderette (20th Century Fox)

“I got a phone call and an email from a lawyer saying ‘you just got a contract to do the film’. I was like, ‘what do I owe? Do I owe them money now?’ I was freaking out!” Settle shared with a huge bearded grin.

“I still don’t believe it. It’s crazy.”




“To me, it’s the greatest showbiz story I’ve been involved in,” Jackman added.


Playing the role of Barnum’s protégé, high society snob Phillip Carlisle, is Zac Efron, also returning to his musical roots. Efron performs two duets in the film, one in a bar with Barnum (‘The Other Side’) that leads in to the show-stopping moment (glimpsed in the trailer) where Carlisle meets Zendaya’s Ann for the first time. They later perform a duet together called ‘Rewrite The Stars’.


Their interracial romance would have been considered taboo at the time, and Hugh Jackman revealed that this subplot was introduced by ‘Beauty and the Beast’ director Bill Condon who was once attached to direct.


ZZ big top… Former Disney stars Zac and Zendaya share a forbidden love (20th Century Fox)


This theme really plays into the heart of the story, which is the pure idea of bringing previously unseen people out of the shadows, and celebrating what it is to be different. “This film is going to offer so many different opportunities for self-celebration,” ‘Aquaman’ star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II explained, “to celebrate one’s otherness, one’s quirkiness, and just being weird.”



With its buzzy cast, a barnstorming soundtrack (every song we’ve heard is a guaranteed earworm), and Hollywood’s leading song and dance man playing the world’s most famous entertainer, ‘The Greatest Showman’ looks like safe bet for Jackman and Fox, but we’ll know for certain when the film arrives in cinemas on New Year’s Day.

[jo]

Jackman, a Barnum scholar who professes to have read 37 books on the entertainment impresario, always knew his story was worth telling on the big screen. Born in 1810, Barnum rose from humble beginnings to become the most famous man in the world thanks to his travelling circus, and his pioneering work at the forefront of “show business”. Jackman likens him to the Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerburg of his day.

“In a way, it’s your classic rags to riches story,” Jackman said. “People know about Barnum as the guy who started the circus, but what people may not know is that in that time, what he created was considered almost criminal, degrading, disgusting.”


“He [was]the man who really contributed to the birth of modern America. People think America was always the place of the free, where it didn’t matter where you were born, but that’s not true. When he was born, it did matter what family, what your last name was, where you went to school, all that really mattered.

“After Barnum, it was imagination, talent, and hard work [that] were the markers for success.”

It does look like that Hugh did not have a naïve view of Barnum's life story. Although he acknowledged that the American self-belief in "imagination, talent and hard work", as keys to success, was a lesson that could be taken from Barnum's example.

Also, maybe what inspired Hugh more to do the biopic is also his strong fascination with show business ... and how it got its early beginnings!

Hugh is after all a creature of the theatre ( which was one of the oldest forms of entertainment)!



Jo

[jo]

It looks like the NYC premier will be held on December 18, 2017!

www.averagesocialite.com/2017/04/the-greatest-showman-premiere-tba.html?m=1

[jo]

Will the kids have the same fascination for this movie? FOX seems to be making sure this movie is family-friendly, meaning it is really for the kids and the kids-in-us...for the lovers of musicals... and maybe even for the supposed cinema buffs who feel celebratory during the holiday season


Fie ( love this old-fashioned word to diss something) on the naysayers!! LOL!



Jo

[jo]

I saw a Reddit page on reactions to the trailer -- same dichotomy of opinions ( many, of course, trashing the character supposedly of the real Barnum) -- but this is one bit that is informative about working on the set --

CinderPetrichor 14 points 5 days ago 
I got to play a firebreather on this movie and all I can say is it's going to be AWESOME!!
permalinkembed


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[–]Astro_Vampire 1 point 5 days ago 
That's awesome! Did you know how to do that or were you taught?
permalinkparent


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[–]GamingTatertotSteven Spielberg Enthusiast 1 point 5 days ago 
What was that like?
permalinkparent

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[–]CinderPetrichor 11 points 5 days ago 

It was truly amazing. Everyone on set were genuinely nice people. Hugh Jackman is incredibly personable and approachable! You could tell everyone had a passion for what they were doing and really loved the movie. Incredible circus talent from all over the world, fantastic dancers, and just... so much awesome!

And it was really interesting working on it right as Barnum and Bailey/Ringling Brothers shut down. We actually used some of their costumes in the movie! It brought home the spirit of the circus for me, and I can't wait to see the whole thing!

It was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me- I don't expect something like this to come around again!

[jo]

That message from the trailer seems to resonate very strongly with everyone!

[jo]

Note an interesting detail --

If you freeze the Screen Credits page from the trailer :


"HUGH JACKMAN" is above the title!

[jo]

Estimated Trailer Views a week after trailer release ( Jun 28)


Facebook - Greatest Showman - 6.6 million
Facebook - Hugh Jackman Page ( TGS trailer) - 4.1 million

YouTube ( Official Fox upload) - 5,252.7
YouTube ( Other uploads with more than 5000 views each -- 3,019


Approx total ( Does not include small-count views/other unidentified sources) -- 19 million .


How many of those were you guilty of creating the stats



Jo

[jo]

At CineEurope --

[jo]

Michael Gracey compared THE GREATEST SHOWMAN on a conceptual basis to three top movie musicals in the past --

*Sound of Music ( 1965) -- Oscar Best Picture
*West Side Story ( 1961) -- Oscar Best Picture
*Mary Poppins (1964) -- Oscar nominee for Best Picture ( Oscar won by My Fair Lady)

If Critics Choices exert a strong influence on audience tastes and choices - let me summarize what can be gathered from ROTTEN TOMATOES --


SOUND OF MUSIC --

www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sound_of_music/

Overall summary of ratings -- 86%
Top Critics summary of ratings -- 57%

Audience Like summary rating -- 91%

(You can read the various critical ratings from the link/derived links)



WEST SIDE STORY

www.rottentomatoes.com/m/west_side_story


Overall ratings -- 94%
Top critics -- 90%

Audience Like rating -- 84%



MARY POPPINS

www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mary_poppins

Overall rating -- 100%
Top Critics -- 100%

Audience Like rating -- 86%



As part of his cinematic vision conceptualization and execution, presumably, Michael Gracey must have studied the individual movies and what the critics said for those three movies as part of his guidance and inspiration?

Of course we haven't seen the movie...but it would be interesting to see how these movies ( of which 2 won Best Picture Oscars - nominated Mary Poppins lost to another musical, My Fair Lady, for Best Picture) did really inspire THE GREATEST SHOWMAN!

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_Award_for_Best_Picture


Jo

[jo]

Btw, I posted an article on the issue OF Franchise Fatigue under the topic UNDERSTANDING THE FILM BUSINESS ( under the general section for MOVIES) -- but there is some discussion on the growing influence of ratings aggregators such as Rotten Tomatoes --

Re;
Sequels, Reboots And Remakes Are Bombing In 2017 — Is 'Franchise Fatigue' A Reality Or A Buzzphrase?
July 5, 2017 at 19:27PM

Excerpts --

The Growing Influence Of Review Aggregators

Recent Bond films, Hunger Games and Harry Potter have all been well received by critics. Twilight wasn't, but still performed extremely well at the box office. It's unlikely that without critical acclaim from the off, the vampire saga would have the same multi-billion-dollar success in today's market, and that's all thanks to Rotten Tomatoes. The review aggregator has been upsetting some big players in the film industry, with many bemoaning its increasing influence on audience turnout, its ability to essentially decide a film's fate, hit or miss.

Further still, a 2015 study commissioned by 20th Century Fox identified that "the power of Rotten Tomatoes and fast-breaking word of mouth will only get stronger," highlighting the website as a powerful tool in influencing the decision making process of millennials. While it's clear the devout reliance on the wisdom of the internet and an increase in ticket prices means Rotten Tomatoes has more of an influence on audience attendance, they aren't the most accurate site: "Flixster ratings are the most predictive of long playoff for a film. Better than Cinemascore, IMDB or Metacritic," Doug explained.

More...

Although much of the focus to this point has been highlighting the argument for franchise fatigue, there are notable exceptions where the Rotten Tomatoes effect is positive. If sequels are reviewed well, they also perform well. This year, Hugh Jackman's last appearance as Wolverine in the acclaimed R-rated superhero hit, Logan, earned $226.3 million domestically;...

[jo]

In comparison, here are the ratings summary for the more recent movie musicals. For more insights, the box office results ( worldwide/domestic/foreign) are also identified for each movie --



*Beauty and the Beast (2017)

Overall rating summary - 71%
Top Critics - 69%
Audience Like summary -82%

Worldwide(WW) box office - $ 1,259.7 million (M)
Domestic box office - $ 503.9
Foreign box office - $ 755.8


****************************

*La La Land (2016)

Overall rating - 92%
Top critics - 96%
Audience Like - 82%

WW box office - $ 443.9 M
Domestic - $ 151.1 M
Foreign - $ 292.8 M

***************************


*Into the Woods ( 2014)

Overall rating - 71%
Top Critics - 86%
Audience Like - 49%

WW Box Office - $ 213.1 M
Domestic - $ 128.0 M
Foreign - $ 85.1 M


***************************


*Jersey Boys (2014)

Overall rating - 52%
Top critics - 57%
Audience Like - 62%

WW box office - $ 67.7 M
Domestic - $ 47.1 M
Foreign - $ 20.6 M


***************************


*Les Miserables ( 2012)

Overall rating - 69%
Top Critics - 57%
Audience Like - 79%

WW box office - $ 441.8 M
Domestic - $ 148.8 M
Foreign - $ 293.0 M


****************************


*Nine ( 2009)

Overall rating - 38%
Top Critics - 30%
Audience Like - 37%

WW box office - $ 54.0 M
Domestic - $ 19.7 M
Foreign - $ 34.3 M


****************************


*Mamma Mia! ( 2008)

Overall rating - 54%
Top Critics - 44%
Audience Like - 66%

WW box office - $ 609.8 M
Domestic - $ 144.1 M
Foreign - $ 465.7 M


***************************


*Sweeney Todd ( 2007)

Overall rating - 86%
Top Critics - 88%
Audience Like - 81%

WW box office - $ 152.5 M
Domestic - $ 52.9 M
Foreign - $ 99.6 M


***************************


*Hairspray ( 2007)

Overall rating - 91%
Top critics - 96%
Audience Like -84%

WW box office - $ 202.5 M
Domestic - $ 118.9 M
Foreign - $ 83.7 M


***************************


*Dreamgirls ( 2006)

Overall Rating - 78%
Top Critics - 84%
Audience Like - 71%

WW box office - $ 154.9 M
Domestic - $ 103.3 M
Foreign - $ 51.6 M


****************************


*Phantom of the Opera (2005)

Overall rating - 32%
Top Critics - 26%
Audience Like - 84%

WW box office - $ 141.0 M
Domestic - $ 51.3 M
Foreign - $ 103.4 M



***************************


*Chicago (2002)

Overall Rating - 86%
Top Critics - 88%
Audience Like - 83%

WW box office - $ 306.8 M
Domestic - $ 170.7 M
Foreign - $ 136.1 M


****************************


*Moulin Rouge ( 2001)

Overall Rating - 76%
Top Critics- 65%
Audience Like - 89%

WW box office - $ 179.2 M
Domestic - $ 57.4 M
Foreign - $ 121.8 M


Note : Moulin Rouge is generally conceded as having re-awakened the moribund movie musicals genre!



But years earlier than Moulin Rouge was this isolated movie musical, based on an Andrew Lloyd Webber stage musical.

****************************

*Evita (1996)

Overall Rating - 62%
Top Critics - 57%
Audience Like - 68%

WW box office - $ 141.0 M
Domestic - $ 50.0 M
Foreign - $ 91.o M


Jo

[mamaleh]

I'd never heard of Flixster; will have to look into it.

So franchise fatigue is a thing, pretty much unless an aggregate scoring index (such as the above or Rotten Tomatoes) gives a movie high marks? Interesting. I recently caught CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR and found it largely uninteresting. Yet it scored very high on RT--and made a huge amount of $$ worldwide. I guess I would not make a particularly perspicacious critic.

Ellen

[jo]

I think critics try to appreciate the film quality now in the context of popular culture preferences ( what is entertaining and how well made it was in view of that perspective). There are not too many films made ( especially by the big 6 major studios) which are way outside the blockbuster classification. Not much big dramatic movies that studios used to produce. Indies are left to their subsidiaries or to independent filmmakers who have to find their own funding. So, critics now generally compare how one tentpole compares with another, hence you have the better quality tentpoles and the not-so-great tentpoles. Maybe Civil War falls under the first category?

That was why LOGAN was such a breath of fresh air -- it went against the genre conventions and was strong in its cinematic vision and execution ( including outstanding acting performances).

Maybe we are not the market for these blockbusters in general. We tend to compare current generation film preferences to film classics that we had seen...and current movies suffer from our mixed-generational perspective?

But maybe movie musicals have been ratings-discriminated against in general? Maybe they are stricter with them than other more popular genres? But if you look from the onset of great filmmaking, musicals come and go and experience periods of appreciation and dismissal? Also, the current generation may not be in tune ( pun intended) with film musicals because they have blockbusters ( and little indies) to pre-occupy them ...or they prefer their musicals ala Hamilton ( contemporary beat with a historical storyline) or ala Evan Hansen ( dealing with current generation's emotional angst) and maybe that also explains the success of WICKED? They want to listen and watch their own stories with the kind of music they appreciate.

So, why did BEAUTY AND THE BEAST become the first musical billionaire?? Earlier than that -- it was MAMMA MIA! which was the top grosser movie musical!

Maybe we can discuss that when we try to correlate the various factors that can make or break movie musicals?


Jo

[jo]

Can we take a look at various factors that have defined past movie musicals's successes and failures? Is there predictive value in looking at how past musicals have performed with critics and audiences alike...and how can we relate them with the potential success of forthcoming musicals?


Can these factors be the important ones to consider --


*Film quality -- could be manifested via critics ratings and audience word-of-mouth. Can we consider a film that is very entertaining, even if the storyline and characterizations are not topnotch, be considered as Excellent... or should that be a separate measure? Is Oscar success the measure of ultimate success? What about material that is too high-brow and probably not a good candidate for movies ( sometimes the material works only on stage or as piece of literature)?

*Music appeal - because they are musicals, the musical score can be an important factor especially if they have had a previous life as popular hits! Or the musical score hits the right notes with the audiences? Even the incongruous mixing of period piece storyline vs music of a different period happens can work ( in the theatre, material like Hamilton). In the case of movies, people cite Moulin Rouge.

*Awards vibe -- not necessarily leading to actual awarding of honors -- but the fact that it is part of the talk of the town during awards season and even post-awards season may draw audiences in.

*Brand name or brand recognition -- could be a major novel/book or piece of literature/could be a previous stage musical/ could be a musicalized film adaptation of previous movie/could be a remake of a previous movie musical?

*Star Power -- the cast and their reputation relating to the genre, especially as triple-threat talents / sometimes having a perceived outstanding reputation for acting or box office draw may be good enough/or being pop culture stars may even be enough. Do creatives reputations also work?

*Audience preference vs Critics Reviews -- there are examples that this dichotomy can work strongly in favor or not in favor of the movie musical. Sometimes highly-rated but high-brow material may turn away audiences...or can work also the other way. And is there a further dichotomy between generations among the audience that can favor or not favor certain type of musicals?

Are there other factors which could be analyzed?

Can analyze the movie musicals in the previous chart of ratings/box office in terms of these factors?


Jo