22 movie musicals you should watch that aren't 'Wicked'
Warner Bros. PicturesThere’s nothing like a good movie musical to get us in our feelings (or singing in the shower).
While Wickedsoars at the box office, there are plenty of other musical movies to tie you over until part two comes out next year. Whether it’s old school classics or the new hits we can’t stop humming, musicals have a way of making everything feel more magical.
The Out staff put our heads together to shout out the ones we love the most. Get comfy, grab some snacks, and let’s dive into the movie musicals we can't get enough of!
Rent
Rent is incredibly important to me, not only was it one of the first musicals I ever saw but growing up in NYC, it always felt so true to home. When it came to the movie, as always I was skeptical. However, once I got to the theater and saw almost the entire original cast from the stage, my heart grew 20 sizes.
The reality is that not everyone is able to see the musicals on stage, but the Rent motion picture allowed EVERYONE to see it. The subject matter of Rent is based around the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 90s, as sad as these moments are... watching this group of people be determined to help each other no matter the circumstances, with no judgement was important and still very much is.
If you are itching to be in New York, this should be at the top of your watchlist and I would argue that this can be considered a christmas movie. Angel Dumott Schunard did not put on a gorgeous velvet Santa jacket for it to be ignored!
— Gabriella Angelina
Grease
My sister was absolutely obsessed with Grease when she was a pre-teen. Being seven years younger than her, I got to watch the film several times at a young age… and we never really stopped! It's always a good time to press play on Grease, if you ask me.
I'm not sure either of us cared for the T-Birds crew, but we did love the colorful and fierce Pink Ladies. Growing up in Brazil watching soap operas — where most characters and storylines were mostly two-dimensional — it was thrilling to see the flashy jackets and strong personalities that emerged from Sandy, Rizzo, Frenchy, Jan, and Marty. Grease is one of those films that can be enjoyed just as a lighthearted musical, but there's also plenty of social commentary underneath the surface.
— Bernardo Sim
Cabaret
Is there a more appropriate musical for the times we're living in right now?
Cabaret, directed by Bob Fosse, stars Liza Minnelli as the iconic Sally Bowles and the immortal Joel Grey as the Master of Ceremonies in a story about a nightclub in 1931 Berlin as fascism and the Nazis rise to power.
Minell, in an Oscar-winning roll, plays a young, bohemian performer at the Kit Kat Klub in the last days of the Weimar Republic who gets entangled in a love triangle as her country descends into violence, bigotry, and hate.
With its strong messages about complacency, antisemitism, how easy it is to go along with mundane evils, and being complicit in oppression, it's the perfect musical for the Trump years
— Mey Rude
In The Heights
In The Heights is one of the greatest musicals we have ever seen, and I will die on that hill. This was the first musical I saw that didn't use showtunes. As a kid you assume broadway will always be showtunes, that was until Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Spanish music was on a BROADWAY STAGE. This musical caused a complete shift in how they were made and the music genres on stage. Shows like Hamilton and Hell's Kitchen did not exist prior to In The Heights. Once there was word of a movie adaption I tracked it for MONTHS. Once John M. Chu is involved you know to hold on to your seats.
This is also my go to recommendation for those "I don't like Musicals" people, these songs are not showtunes, they are latin HITS.
— Gabriella Angelina
Newsies
Who would've thought the most pro-union musical of all time would be made by Disney?
Before Christian Bale was the Dark Knight, he was a singing and dancing newsboy in the original Newsies from 1992, which would later inspire the 2012 Broadway show. Disney actually professionally filmed a live performance of the stage production and released it to streaming, but the original movie is still more than worth a watch. It has great characters and moments that couldn't make it into the stage version, and features actors that actually look like teenagers (sorry, Jeremy Jordan.)
As a life-long musical theatre fan, I was into Newsies before I ever thought I'd become a journalist. Just goes to show you that there really is no escapin' us, pal — we're inevitable.
— Ryan Adamczeski
Nine
Nine, also directed by my king and savior Rob Marshall (who had just directed Chicago a few years before), is another standout musical film for me. I could write thousands of words just on Daniel Day-Lewis' performance as Guido Contini and Marion Cotillard as Luisa.
"Guido's Song" was one of the first showtunes I heard that perfectly captured the often restless and chaotic mind of a creative person, while "My Husband Makes Movies" served as a clear contrast to the challenges of being in a relationship with that chaotic creative with a restless mind. Nine also gives us Fergie doing "Be Italian" and Kate Hudson singing "Cinema Italiano," which are both in the canon of camp cinema, as far as I'm concerned.
— Bernardo Sim
DreamGirls
Dreamgirls might have six Tony Awards, but it remains one of the most underrated musicals of all time. The 1982 stage show was given the movie treatment in 2006 with an all-star cast of Anika Noni Rose, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, Danny Glover, and the one and only Beyoncé. It won Jennifer Hudson the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, effectively launching her into superstardom.
The original song Beyoncé wrote performed in the movie, “Listen,” even became a part of the zeitgeist and remains a karaoke classic to this day. Dreamgirls has everything a little gay boy needs to become absolutely obsessed: the glitz, the glamour, the backstabbing, the jaw-dropping vocals. Now Broadway, if you’re reading this, where the hell is the stage revival?
— Taylor Henderson
Mamma Mia
Meryl Streep. That's it, that's all we ever should have to say. Mamma Mia is just one of those musicals you have to love and see at least once. To be fair I felt a little cheated not seeing Streep live on stage..... but alas the movie is fantastic. It also makes no sense in the grand scheme of things which makes it incredibly campy.
It takes place in greece, uses italian slang as a title, while simultaneously using Abba songs which is a swedish band. SO CAMP. Super Trooper? CAMP. Mamma Mia is simply a feel good musical that every generation can enjoy.
— Gabriella Angelina
Chicago
Chicago is my favorite musical film. As characters, Roxie Hart, Velma Kelly, Matron "Mama" Morton, Amos Hart, and Billy Flynn are all compelling, nuanced, wonderful, and awful individuals… which makes it so much fun to follow them along!
Don't even get me started on the no-skips soundtrack of Chicago. It's back-to-back-to-back-to-back hit showtunes that are directed and performed to perfection in the film. "Cell Block Tango" is the obvious standout, but I'm obsessed with numbers like "We Both Reached for the Gun," "Mister Cellophane," "Roxie," and obviously the explosive, dazzling final number that always makes me want to press rewind and re-watch Chicago all over again.
— Bernardo Sim
The Greatest Showman
If you can count on me for anything, its finding a way to make Zendaya the topic of conversation. This is no exception. Not only was Zendaya hitting notes, swinging from hula-hoops and dancing her heart out, she was doing it with ZAC EFRON. Personally The Greatest Showman did everything I needed it too. From my Disney Channel idols being on the big screen again to the soundtrack that lives with ALL of us. There is one constant in all of the musicals I choose for this list, characters are always fighting for their right to be different. Whether that's Elphaba in Wicked or Anne in The Greatest Showman, standing out from the normal should be celebrated.
Zac Efron was everything to me as a preteen, he was also a major player in my love for musicals from High School Musical to Hairspray. This film put everything I loved together with a gorgeous pink bow the same color as Anne Wheeler's hair.
If you haven't seen this yet, if not for me, For Zendaya.
— Gabriella Angelina
The Color Purple
Lots of great movies don't really translate into great Broadway musicals, but The Color Purple has always stood as a wonderful exception. It was a tall order for the 2023 musical film to live up not only to the 1985 film, but also to the 2015 Broadway revival. And yet, it did!
With an absolutely stacked cast featuring Fantasia, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, H.E.R., Halle Bailey, and Corey Hawkins, under the direction of the brilliant Blitz Bazawule, 2023's The Color Purple delivers everything we wanted, everything we needed, and so much more.
— Bernardo Sim
Moulin Rouge
When I voted for my top ten films of all time for the 2022 Sight and Sound Poll, Moulin Rouge! was one of only two musicals on my list. It's a masterclass in direction, acting, singing, and spectacle.
Nicole Kidman was nominated for an Oscar and won the Golden Globe opposite Ewan McGregor looking more dreamy than anyone has ever looked on film. It's a stacked cast, with John Leguizamo, Jim Broadbent, and Richard Roxburgh delivering equally divine performances in this tale of truth, beauty, freedom and above all, love.
Moulin Rouge! is the greatest jukebox musical of all time, the greatest straight love story of all time, and Luhrmann's greatest film. I could rewatch it any time and love it just as much.
— Mey Rude
The Wizard of Oz
I mean, The Wizard of Oz is one of the best movies of all time, full stop. Would anyone even dare to argue against that?
The way some straight men are obsessed with The Godfather, or with Fight Club — that's me and The Wizard of Oz. It probably helps that Wicked premiered on Broadway in the 2000s and I also became obsessed with that show, even though I'd still feel the same way about The Wizard of Oz even without Wicked.
Though I wasn't entirely aware of my queerness as a young kid, loving Judy Garland's Dorothy and sympathizing with the Wicked Witch of the West were probably big enough hints of what was lying underneath. I was a "friend of Dorothy's" all along, after all.
— Bernardo Sim
Les Misérables
This one might be controversial for the fans who weren't thrilled by this adaptation. As someone who's read the entire unabridged Brick, I love it. Anne Hathaway's performance is stellar, and George Blagden's Grantaire gave us unrequited gay yearning like never before.
Don't believe me? He literally rewrote Death Cab For Cutie's "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" to be from the perspective of Grantaire to Enjolras (Aaron Tveit). He tried to meet with Tveit to discuss their character dynamics, got brushed off, and then used getting brushed off to fuel his performance. That's method acting.
— Ryan Adamczeski
Mean Girls
Remaking Mean Girls is a monumental task. The original is as iconic as teen movies get, but somehow, the updated movie musical was able to make it a thousand times gayer and just as good.
Starring lesbian actor Reneé Rapp as Regina George, Auliʻi Cravalho as a (finally) canonically queer Janis, and Jaquel Spivey as a perfect Damian, this new Mean Girls made it into the full-on queer classic it always has been.
With fun songs, even more fun performances, and a new twist on one of the all-time classics, Mean Girls wins Spring Fling Queen in my heart.
— Mey Rude
Funny Girl
I hate to say it, but I’d never heard of Funny Girl before Glee. The controversial teen dramedy that aired between 2009 and 2015 introduced a generation of choir and theater nerds to show tunes that had, honestly, vanished from the mainstream conversation. Despite the show’s flaws, I am eternally grateful for that.
Years after Glee ended, I stumbled upon Funny Girl on a streaming service and was gobsmacked. Barbara Streisand, please accept my apology. Lea Michele, I understand. Streisand is a tour de force in this old Hollywood musical drama about the sacrifices that come along with achieving your dreams. It was based on the 1964 stage show of the same name, which Michele got to star in in 2022. Talk about full circle.
— Taylor Henderson
The Prom
It can be hard for new musicals to really capture our attention, but The Prom always felt like an adorable and endearing production that seamlessly translated into a fun musical film. I was quite far away from my own high school experience when the 2020 movie came out on Netflix, but "Just Breathe" immediately pulls you back into that framework in a hilarious way.
I also have to stan Andrew Rannells doing "The Acceptance Song," and Nicole Kidman performing "Zazz," and the adorable "We Look to You" number from Keegan-Michael Key.
— Bernardo Sim
Hairspray
I saw Hairspray in movie theaters nine times, and that was before I was out and before MoviePass existed.
As a fat, closeted queer trans woman, I saw myself on screen in a way that I had never seen before the first time I saw Tracy and Edna Turnblad. I would return to the theater to smile, laugh, sing along, and dance in the aisle with my friends, and I'd feel like I belonged.
Each member of the cast is better than the last, with Nikki Blonsky becoming an instant icon, John Travolta giving the best and most unique performance of his career, Amanda Bynes absolutely slaying, and a supporting cast that includes greats like Michelle Pfeifer, Queen Latifah, Brittany Snow, Zac Efron, and a very young Tayla Parx.
— Mey Rude
Across The Universe
This jukebox musical easily could’ve told the story of The Beatles’s formation but instead did something much more interesting. It followed the story of Jude, Lucy, Prudence and Max, four teens figuring out who they were within the backdrops of the 1960s, Vietnam War, and civil rights. It’s an experimental musical, edgier than many of its peers at the time, and was a sexual awakening for many queers.
Before I knew I was gay, I was enamored with Prudence singing “I Want To Hold Your Hand” to another girl in her class, and her running away to the big city for something… else. The visually stunning film became a staple for many angsty teens on Tumblr who couldn’t wait to leave home. And when you combine these motifs of longing and angst with the magic that is The Beatles’ songwriting, it’s no wonder Across The Universe became a cultural phenomenon.
— Taylor Henderson
Tick Tick Boom
Andrew Garfield the man you are…Garfield was nominated for an Oscar for his role as composer and playwright Jonathan Larson, best known for his musical Rent in this terrific autobiographical musical from 2021.
Garfield learned to sing for the role, in this film based on Larson's stage play of the same name about Larson trying to break into the world of theater by writing a musical. Along with Alexandra Shipp, Robin de Jesus, Joshua Henry, and Vanessa Hudgens bring this lesser-known Larson musical to life along with first time film director Lin-Manuel Miranda.
If you love Rent and haven't seen this movie, now is your time!
— Mey Rude
High School Musical
Talk about a movie musical that raised a generation. Now times that by 3. The High School Musical franchise launched Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, and Corbin Bleu into superstardom and broke records over and over again for most viewed musical movie on the Disney Channel.
With songs about teenage love, leaving home, or their dreams to be superstars, it’s deeply unserious, but that was its immense charm. Combine that with the vision of Kenny Ortega, the visionary who’d worked with Michael Jackson, Cher, KISS, and Miley Cyrus, and the magic basically jumped off the screen.
— Taylor Henderson
Cats
Okay, hear me out. Cats (2019) is a camp classic.
Cats is a beloved musical, and this film adapts it in the only way it could be for the big screen. It's a huge, huge, huge, creative risk, and while some choices don't always work, overall, there are very few movies that will make you smile and laugh as much as Cats.
I don't mean this ironically, Cats (2019) made me cry at least three of the eight times I saw it in theaters. As soon as the first musical notes started, I was transported into a new and different world, and I didn't leave until long after Old Deuteronomy had turned to the camera to address the audience directly. Very genuinely, the best movie theater experience I have ever had was watching Cats on opening night.
Actors like Jennifer Hudson, Laurie Davidson, Robbie Fairchild, Judi Dench, Ian McKellen, and Steven McRae (as Skimbleshanks, the Railway Cat) deliver perfectly feline performances and commit 200 percent to the bit. What more could you ask for?
— Mey Rude
