Photo:20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection
The movie musical has been hitting all the right notes since 1927.
Although it’s been a while since a movie musical has taken the top spot in the category — the last one to do so wasChicagoin 2003 (although who could forget theLa La Landmix-upin 2017) — Hollywood is still belting out box-office hits likeThe Color Purple(2023),Wonka(2023) andMean Girls(2024).
Ahead, we’ve compiled the 10 movie musicals that have waltzed away with the coveted Best Picture statuette at the Oscars.
01of 10
1930:The Broadway Melody
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The first “talkie” to win the Oscar for Best Picture was 1929’sThe Broadway Melody— marking a huge step forward in the industry and for movie musicals. As MGM’s first musical, its success would pave a path for some of the big screen’s best movie musicals likeThe Wizard of Oz(1939),Meet Me in St. Louis(1944) andSingin' in the Rain.
It beat out dramas likeAlibi(1929),In Old Arizona(1928) andThe Patriot(1928)—and one musical,The Hollywood Revue(1929)—in what was only the Academy’s second annual awards.
02of 10
1937:The Great Ziegfeld
Based on the life and career of Ziegfeld Follies creator Florenz “Flo” Ziegfeld Jr., the extravagantThe Great Ziegfeld(1936) took home Best Picture at the ninth annual Oscars — beating a whopping nine nominees, includingAnthony Adverse(1936),Dodsworth(1936),Libeled Lady(1936),Mr. Deeds Goes to Town(1936),Romeo and Juliet(1936),The Story of Louis Pasteur(1936),A Tale of Two Cities(1935), and fellow musicalsSan Francisco(1936) andThree Smart Girls(1936).
03of 10
1945:Going My Way
The movie musical hit its stride in the 1940s. However, 1945 saw only one movie musical nominated for Best Picture:Going My Way(1944), which went up against dramasDouble Indemnity(1944),Gaslight(1944),Since You Went Away(1944) andWilson(1944).
In addition to being one of the 10 movie musicals to claim the Oscars' biggest prize,Going My Wayis also considered one of the few comedic films to earn the Academy’s highest honor.
04of 10
1952:An American in Paris
The ’50s were a decade of the classic Hollywood musical, and there was no bigger star thanGene Kelly— who took home an honorary statuette for his triple-threat talents in 1952.
It was adapted for the stage in a 2015 Broadway musical.
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1959:Gigi
Vincente may have lost forAn American in Paris, but he made up for it with an Oscar for directing 1958’sGigi— which would set records with nine overall wins, including Best Picture. It beat outAuntie Mame(1958),Cat on a Hot Tin Roof(1958),The Defiant Ones(1958) andSeparate Tables(1958).
Billed as “A New Fair Lady,” the film brought Broadway songwriters Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe to the big screen after their 1956 musicalMy Fair Ladyhad swept theTony Awards. The 14 originalGigisongs spurred hits like “Thank Heaven for Little Girls” and “The Night They Invented Champagne.”
It was adapted for the stage in 1973 and again in 2015 in a production starringVanessa Hudgens.
06of 10
1962:West Side Story
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Musicals were big business in the ’60s and resulted in four Best Picture winners, including 1961’sWest Side Story, which took home 10 Oscars and beat outFanny(1961),The Guns of Navarone(1961),The Hustler(1961) andJudgment at Nuremberg(1961).
Adapted from Leonard Bernstein andStephen Sondheim’s 1957 Broadway musical based on William Shakespeare’sRomeo and Juliet, the film tells the tale of two star-crossed New York City lovers from opposite sides of their neighborhood.Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer andRita Morenostarred, with Jerome Robbins co-directing (and recreating his iconic finger-snapping choreography from the stage).
Earning 10 of the 11 awards for which it was nominated — the most of any movie musical until then —West Side Storyreceived high praise from critics and audiences alike, becoming the year’ssecond-highest-grossing film. It is still considered one of the gold standards in stage-to-screen transfers.
07of 10
1965:My Fair Lady
It took less than 10 years for Lerner and Loewe’s hit 1956 stage musicalMy Fair Ladyto make the jump to the big screen in 1964. Based on George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 stage playPygmalion, it tells the story of arrogant phonetics professor Henry Higgins (Rex Harrison) who sets out to turn a poor Cockney flower seller named Eliza Doolittle (Audrey Hepburn) into a proper English high-society woman.
The film won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, triumphing overBecket(1964),Dr. Strangelove(1964),Mary Poppins(1964) andZorba the Greek(1964).
Harrison also picked up the Best Actor trophy for the film, reprising his role from the original Broadway show. Hepburn famously wasn’t nominated for Best Actress — the award went toJulie AndrewsforMary Poppins. Considering Andrews originated Eliza Doolittle on Broadway opposite Harrison, it was a controversial win.
08of 10
1966:The Sound of Music
Andrews may have missed out onMy Fair Lady, but she later scored one of the most iconic roles of her career inThe Sound of Music —the 1965 film adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1959Tony-winning stage musical.
She played Maria, a young Austrian nun-in-training who becomes the governess to the seven children of a retired naval officer (Christopher Plummer).
The film was the highest-grossing of the year, and despite mixed critical reviews, it would take home five Oscars, including Best Picture. The competition?Darling(1965),Doctor Zhivago(1965),Ship of Fools(1965) andA Thousand Clowns(1965).
Andrews would lose Best Actress toDarling’s Julie Christie.
09of 101969:Oliver!Oliver!was the last of the ’60s big-screen musicals to nab the Best Picture honor in 1969. The coming-of-age musical would take home six awards at the 41st Academy Awards, including one for director Carol Reed and an honorary one for choreographer Onna White.An adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic novelOliverTwist, Lionel Bart’s stage musical originally premiered in London in 1960 and on Broadway in 1963. The film starred Mark Lester as the titular orphan, Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger and Ron Moody as experienced thief Fagin (Wild and Moody were both nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor, respectively).Oliver!beatThe Lion in Winter(1968),Romeo and Juliet(1968),Rachel, Rachel(1968) andFunny Girl(1968).
09of 10
1969:Oliver!
Oliver!was the last of the ’60s big-screen musicals to nab the Best Picture honor in 1969. The coming-of-age musical would take home six awards at the 41st Academy Awards, including one for director Carol Reed and an honorary one for choreographer Onna White.
An adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic novelOliverTwist, Lionel Bart’s stage musical originally premiered in London in 1960 and on Broadway in 1963. The film starred Mark Lester as the titular orphan, Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger and Ron Moody as experienced thief Fagin (Wild and Moody were both nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Best Actor, respectively).
Oliver!beatThe Lion in Winter(1968),Romeo and Juliet(1968),Rachel, Rachel(1968) andFunny Girl(1968).
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2003:Chicago
A movie musical wouldn’t take home another Oscar untilChicagoin 2003. The art form all but vanished from cinemas after a string of box-office flops in the ’70s and ’80s. ThoughHello, Dolly!(1969),Fiddler on the Roof(1971),Cabaret(1972),Beauty and the Beast(1991) andMoulin Rouge!(2001) all received Best Picture nominations.
Chicagowon six Oscars, including Best Supporting Actress for starCatherine-Zeta Jones.Renée Zellweger,John C. ReillyandQueen Latifahwere all nominated for their performances — while starRichard Gere, who won the Golden Globe for his role, was one of the year’s biggest snubs.
It beatGangs of New York(2002),The Hours(2002),The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers(2002) andThe Pianist(2002).
source: people.com
