Broadway has a real accessibility problem when it comes to location and price. Show tickets are ridiculously expensive, and even getting to New York City costs money that many individuals don’t have to spend.
But, with the recent influx of musical movie adaptations, people are now able to watch these shows at a nearby movie theater or in the comfort of their own homes. Additionally, directors can tell their stories in a new medium with more resources and bigger budgets, often making these shows feel more magical than they did on stage.
With so few individuals having the privilege of seeing these shows when they were originally on Broadway, movies like these act as a chance for the general public to see these stories. Sure, there have been a couple of recent failures in this genre, like “Dear Evan Hansen” and “Cats,” but “Wicked” is defying expectations where these films fell short.
“Wicked” is a prime example of this renaissance of Broadway musicals getting their time to shine on the big screen. And though some believe these shows should stay on the stage, it is hard to ignore the impact they have when they go to movie theaters across the country.
Before the ubiquity of Broadway movie musicals, individuals wanting to see a Broadway-level production had to either travel to New York, find a recording online or hope a traveling production would come their way.
During the 2023 theater season, Broadway tickets on average cost $128 per person. When the average movie theater ticket or streaming subscription costs a fraction of that price, these adaptations lend themselves as a cheaper alternative to spending hundreds of dollars on tickets.
Not only are musicals of this genre on the big screen more accessible, they also foster a love of musical theatre in a new generation.
“Wicked,” which has been smashing box office records since it was released in November, is the first of its kind to do so. No other movie musical of this caliber has done this well, and this could act as a catalyst for other movies in this genre.
Of course, “Wicked” is not the first of its kind. During the 1960s, Broadway musicals were being adapted to the screen left and right with some winning Best Picture at the Oscars, “My Fair Lady” and “The Sound of Music” even won the award back to back. But now, films are trying to hide their musical theater aspects, with movies like “Mean Girls” and “Wonka” marketing themselves as non-musical adaptations of their stage counterparts. This is what makes “Wicked” so refreshing in this space — it is a bright, loud and unapologetic musical theater film in a way that is difficult to ignore.
Surely, “Wicked” will not be the last of its kind. This is one of the first instances in which a musical has been discussed so frequently and positively in mainstream media in recent decades, and one can hope that it will inspire future high-effort film adaptations of successful musicals. With the second installment releasing in November 2025, “Wicked” will be a movie musical not soon forgotten.
