Some movies are iconic and beloved for their compelling stories, unforgettable characters, and immersive worlds. However, not every film can make a successful transition to the stage. Cinema and theatre are very different, and while a plot may seem amazing on screen, it often doesn’t translate well when songs are added.
Here are 10 great movies that were made into bad musicals.
10 Mean Girls
Mean Girls (2024) – Reneé Rapp sings “Meet The Plastics” 🎵 (Full Song) | Paramount Movies
You’d be hard-pressed to find a movie that’s come in the last 20 years that’s been quoted more than “Mean Girls.” Tina Fey’s iconic high school comedy was adapted for the stage in 2017 and opened on Broadway a year later.
Fey herself worked on the book, though the decision to change the setting from 2004 to modern day did not sit well with some fans. Many claimed that the original movie was a product of the early 2000s teen culture, with jokes about bulimia and slurs no longer being seen as funny. Despite this, Mean Girls stayed on Broadway for two years, only shutting down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
So why is it on this list? Mean Girls is unique because while the stage version of the show is fine (if underwhelming, according to critics), the 2024 movie version of the musical was a huge flop. It gained notoriety on TikTok for its odd directing choices, which included filming some songs from a cell phone and lead Angourie Rice’s subpar singing. It was a commercial flop, with reviewers noting it was a “hot mess.”
9 Fame
The First 10 Minutes Of Fame | Fame The Musical
With both a TV show and a musical based on the original movie, Fame is one show that really lives up to its name.
“Fame” follows a group of students at a performing arts high school in New York City as they navigate adolescence. The theatrical nature of the original source material makes this an obvious choice to adapt into a stage musical.
One of the main problems critics had with this show was that it was pretty much just the movie… on a stage. While this is, of course, the point of adapting a movie to the stage, Fame made no effort to vary the plot or add character development, opting instead to reuse jokes and songs from the 1980 movie. Even the cult status of the original film and a 2020 pro-shoot recording couldn’t save this show.
8 Tootsie
Faced with the reality that he’s gained a reputation for being difficult, actor Michael Dorsey assumes a new identity and new gender. Thus lies the premise for the popular 1982 comedy “Tootsie.”
Such a ridiculous and theatrical plot seems tailor-made for a Broadway musical, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. While the comedy and writing were praised, most critics agreed that the music was repetitive and dull anathema to the innate energy of the movie.
The nail in the coffin for Tootsie was a blowback from the transgender and non-binary communities, which pointed out that trans people were the butt of many jokes and the perpetuation of transmisogyny.
7 The Devil Wears Prada
The Devil Wears Prada | 2024 West End Trailer
Without Meryl and Anne, this story just isn’t the same.
Based on the 2006 movie, The Devil Wears Prada musical was a surprise flop considering the talent involved, which included Tony nominee Shaina Taub, screenwriter Paul Rudnick, and Sir Elton John. It’s Elton’s involvement that makes the negative reviews so shocking. Not only were the music and lyrics underwhelming, but the New York Post noted that the show was “alarmingly in-fun and sluggish.” Not quite what you’d expect from the Pinball Wizard, especially when paired with a cult classic movie.
Worst of all, the costumes didn’t quite steal the show—which is a problem for a musical about fashion.
6 Ghost
Ghost the Musical – Official Trailer (HD)
Patrick Swayze broke hearts in the 1990 movie Ghost, where he played a specter desperately trying to reconnect with his still-alive lover. With Demi Moore as the aforementioned girlfriend and the hilarious Whoopi Goldberg as a psychic who can help them, it’s no surprise Ghost still brings many to tears.
As a matter of fact, so did the 2011 musical adaption, but not for the same reasons. The musical version of Ghost premiered in the Manchester Opera House and transferred to Broadway less than a year later. Though the show did garner a few Tony Awards for some cool social effects, reviewers were not impressed with the “innocuous, forgettable pop songs” and noted that the show seemed almost to exist purely to show off the set and effects, leaving audiences wanting something a bit more human.[5]
5 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical on Broadway, Starring Christian Borle as Willy Wonka
Roald Dahl’s famous 1964 children’s novel has been adapted multiple times, most notably in 1971 with Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka and in 2005 with Johnny Depp in the lead role.
It’s a classic story of selflessness and the magic of sugar, and one that audiences have flocked to approximately every 25 years (if we consider the box office smash of 2024’s Wonka). It seems impossible to mess up. But when the musical adaption hit Broadway in 2017, critics weren’t happy.
Their unease mostly stemmed from the production’s decision to cast adults as all of the Golden Ticket winning children. This combined with a minimalist set which failed to capture the magic and whimsy of Wonka’s world caused Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to be sent down the chocolate river.
4 Big
Like most of the musicals on this list, Big should have been a hit, just like the 1988 Tom Hanks movie of the
