If LES MISERABLES is a Hit, MISS SAIGON Film is Next for Cameron Mackintosh

The highly anticipated film version of LES MISERABLES doesn't hit theaters for another week, but producer Cameron Mackintosh may already have his eye on another movie musical.

The New York Post's Michael Reidel reports today that if the LES MIS film adaptation reaches $500 million in box office receipts, Mackintosh will invest in another adaptation for the silver screen: MISS SAIGON.

A London revival of MISS SAIGON, which made its West End debut in 1989, is currently underway. The sung-through musical's creative team consists of LES MIS collaborators Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr. based on Giacomo Puccini's popular opera MADAME BUTTERFLY.

LES MISERABLES has plenty of buzz, but the ticket sales for other recent stage-to-screen movies - ROCK OF AGES or RENT, for example - were less than stellar. Starry ROCK OF AGES grossed $38 million in theaters, while RENT took in just over $29 million.

Only time will tell if the latest musical transfer is a box office success; LES MIS has its US debut on December 25. Under the direction of Tom Hooper, the film will star Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, Anne Hathaway as Fantine, Russell Crowe as Javert, Sacha Baron Cohen as Thernardier, Eddie Redmayne as Marius, Aaron Tveit as Enjolras, Amanda Seyfried as Cosette, Samantha Barks as Eponine, and Helena Bonham Carter as Madame Thenardier.

Les Miserables originally opened in London at the Barbican Theatre on 8 October 1985, transferred to the Palace Theatre on 4 December 1985 and moved to its current home at the Queen's Theatre on 3 April 2004. When LES MISERABLES celebrated its 21st London birthday on 8 October 2006, it became the World's Longest Running Musical, surpassing the record previously held by "Cats" in London's West End. In January 2010, The West End production broke another record by celebrating its historic 10,000th performance.

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