Has There Been A Bigger Hit Than Wicked?

[Phantom of London]

The show is virtually a sell out at one of Broadways biggest houses and this has been the case for 9 years, with tickets selling at full price with a average ticket costing $138.81.

Successful sit down in:

Chicago - which run at the Oriental for nearly 4 years

Los Angeles - which played the Pantages for 2 years

San Francisco - which played the Orpheum for nearly 2 years

2 national tours which I gather are going very strong.

London West End productions is still playing strong at the Victoria Apollo for coming up to 6 years.

Successful International productions have played Japan, Germany, Australia, Singapore and now South Korea.

[LALALand]

You're kidding...right?

[JohnyBroadway]

Phantom Of The Opera
The Lion King
Le Miz
Miss Saigon
Cats

[ClapYo'Hands]

The show doesn't sell out in London anymore. The upper level is at best half full sometimes even on Saturdays. Give it another ten years until it can move into "biggest hit ever" territory.

[BwayEqs]

I agree that WICKED is a huge hit all over the world. But I definitley don't think that it the biggest hit ever. Le Miz and Phantom are definitely bigger hits. But it is still a fabulous production.

[EponineAmneris]

^^^ What BwayEqs said

[ClapYo'Hands]

I'm sorry, Le Miz? You must mean Les Misèrables.

[EricMontreal22]

If we're being pedantic (on here? really?), the e has an accent aigu, not an accent grave...

[BroadwayFan12]

I'd say Phantom is the biggest hit ever. 24 years on Broadway and 26 years on the West End.

[BroadwayBound115]

It is hard to believe that it will be celebrating it's 10th anniversary a year from October.

[Lavieboheme3090]

Mamma Mia even got a movie.

[ClapYo'Hands]

"If we're being pedantic (on here? really?), the e has an accent aigu, not an accent grave..."

You're right. I wish my keyboard had the ability to type the other. Just..."Le Miz"? Come on...

[Jay94]

The Phantom of the Opera
The Lion King
Beauty and the Beast
Chicago
Les Miserables
Cats
A Chorus Line

And many more musicals are much better known:
Oklahoma!
My Fair Lady
Fiddler on the Roof
Guys and Dolls
The King and I
West Side Story

The songs have never been particularly famous and the show has never left much of an impression on the zeitgeist as some of the others shows listed above

[Princeton Returns]

The west end production hasn't been a sell out for years, it does well but I've seen it when its been half empty

[Phantom of London]

The broadway production is a sell out and can do upto $2m a week.

Regarding the West End, Wicked is playing a massive theatre, which I would say is 400 seats bigger than its counterpart the Gershwin on Broadway.

[BwayEqs]

Mamma Mia even got a movie.

Read the articles, 'cuz WICKED is getting a movie too.

[Wynbish]

Rock of Ages got a movie too. The existence of a movie is not a sign of a mega hit

[BwayEqs]

But the rock of ages movie sucked.

[AnythingGoes23]

Wicked is the biggest musical for the past decade, or even two I would say.

Ever though, it has a while to go yet, Phantom, Miz, Lion King... Are way out in front and running strong still.

I think the movie of Wicked, it will happen I think it's safe to say, if done well, well guarantee it's Broadway and West End run for another 10 years.

[Wynbish]

^ How is Wicked the biggest musical of maybe the past two decades, and yet it's not at the level of Lion King, which has come out in the past two decades?

[BwayEqs]

^ Becuase, for one, you can't really name a big star that has been in LION KING. WICKED, however, has had Kristin Chenoweth, Joel Grey, Etc.....

[Wynbish]

^ I know that. I was referring to the wording of the previous comment, linking Lion King with Phantom and Les Miserables, but saying that Wicked is the biggest musical potentially of the past two decades. Lion King opened in the past two decades.

[JoeKv99]

I think as far as stage productions you have to think Les Miserable or Phantom with maybe Lion King right up there. The real test will be where it is in 10 or 20 years. A hit movie would enhance it tremendously. It has a Platinum Cast Recording- which is good for a stage show but a hit movie might generate 10 million or more sales of the soundtrack- you might even throw a hit single up the charts.

[BwayEqs]

Jordan Catalano said that the WICKED movie will include a brand new score written by Randy Newman. I don't know if he was just being a schmuck or if this is true, but if it is true, I think a new score will definitley increase sales. I know I would definitley buy it.

[Wynbish]

Yeah, pretty sure he was just being clever.

[JoeKv99]

There's no way they aren't using the score that comes attached to Wicked- but they certainly might cut some songs and add a few new ones- one of which would almost certainly be targeted to top 40 radio.