30 Movies That Became Showstopping Musicals

Burlesque

The West End theater community is about to show audiences how they burlesque. Christina Aguilera — who starred as Ali opposite Cher’s Tess in the 2010 musical film — teamed up with Sia, Diane Warren, Todrick Hall and Jess Folley (who will play Ali onstage) to write new songs for the stage production, alongside hits from the original movie.

After previewing in Manchester and Glasgow in 2024, the musical begins its 10-week run at London’s Savoy Theatre on July 10.

Death Becomes Her

In 2024, Death Becomes Her — the 1992 cult classic starring Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn — received a glamorous new life onstage. In the Broadway adaptation about two rivals chasing eternal youth via a magical potion, Megan Hilty stars as Madeline Ashton, Jennifer Simard takes on Helen Sharp and Destiny’s Child’s Michelle Williams plays Viola Van Horn.

The dazzling production earned 10 Tony nominations in 2025 and won for best costume design of a musical (fitting for a show where looking flawless is life or death), earning Paul Tazewell a Tony the same year he took home an Oscar for Best Costume Design for a movie based on a musical: Wicked (2024).

Back to the Future

Bob Gale, co-writer of the original 1985 sci-fi classic, brought the future back (again!) — this time to the stage. Back to the Future: The Musical — which Michael J. Fox, the OG Marty McFly, described as “pretty good quality” to PEOPLE in October 2022 — features songs from the film along with new music and lyrics by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard.

After a successful run in the West End and winning the Laurence Olivier Award for best new musical, the production transferred to Broadway, where it ran from June 2023 to January 2025.

Little Shop of Horrors

Roger Corman’s low-budget 1960 indie film about a flower shop assistant (Jonathan Haze) and his man-eating, sentient plant (voiced by Charlie B. Griffith) has blossomed into one of the most beloved stage musicals since premiering off-off-Broadway in 1982 — four years before the musical adaptation hit the big screen.

After a stint on Broadway in 2003–2004, Little Shop of Horrors is back and has been playing off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre since October 2019, featuring a rotating cast that included five of 2025’s Tony nominees: past Seymours Jonathan Groff, Jeremy Jordan, Conrad Ricamora and Darren Criss, as well as former Urchin and Audrey, Joy Woods.

Titanic

When adapting Titanic (1997) into a musical, it only makes sense to center it around the film’s most iconic voice: Céline Dion (originated by Marla Mindelle). 

But rather than faithfully retelling the movie’s plot, this off-Broadway parody reimagines the sinking Ship of Dreams through Dion’s melodramatic narration (and a few improvisational detours). And, of course, her Oscar- and Grammy-winning hit, “My Heart Will Go On,” makes the cut.

(Fun fact: Titanic the Musical opened on Broadway the same year the film Titanic came out, but that stage show is not based on the movie at all. As both memorialize the actual historic event, there are some overlapping characters, but a singing version of Jack and Rose only exists in Titanique.)

Heathers

It makes sense that a cult-favorite dark comedy would have an equally jaw-dropping stage adaptation. Heathers, the 1988 film starring Winona Ryder and Christian Slater, made waves off-Broadway in 2014.

Since then, the show has had a successful run in the West End and is in N.Y.C. for another off-Broadway production running from June to September 2025.

Clueless

She’s not just a Disney Darling … actress and singer Dove Cameron starred as Cher in the jukebox musical adaptation of Clueless (1995). The show — which featured ’90s hits like TLC’s “No Scrubs,” Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” and more — had a limited run off-Broadway from November 2018 to January 2019.

The show has been playing in the West End since early 2025 and is expected to run through March 2026.

Mrs. Doubtfire

A musical adaptation of the 1993 film said “HELLO!” to the Great White Way in March 2020. Although the show’s previews were quickly halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, it resumed in December of the next year.

The musical officially opened on December 5, 2021, starring Tony nominee Rob McClure as Daniel Hillard/Euphegenia Doubtfire, the character first made famous on-screen by Robin Williams.

The Devil Wears Prada

The legendary Elton John composed the stage musical of The Devil Wears Prada, with lyrics from Shaina Taub and Mark Sonnenblick, based on both the 2003 Lauren Weisberger novel and the hit 2006 film.

The musical first premiered in Chicago in 2021, with Beth Leavel playing Runway editor Miranda Priestly and Taylor Iman Jones as Andy Sachs. In the West End, Vanessa Williams wears Miranda’s sharp heels at London’s Dominion Theatre.

Mean Girls

You can sit with us! Tina Fey, who wrote the original 2004 film, wrote the book for the Broadway show while her husband, Jeff Richmond, wrote the music. The musical premiered on Broadway in April 2018 and concluded its run after the COVID-19 shutdown in March 2020.

The show was such a hit that Fey brought a fresh twist on the story back to the movie theaters — a new (musical!) version of Mean Girls premiered in January 2024, starring Reneé Rapp as the formidable Regina George.

King Kong

There’s nothing quite like a gigantic puppet of King Kong to really show off some theater magic. The original version of the musical, which was based on the 1933 film, premiered in Melbourne, Australia, in 2013. Five years later, it premiered on Broadway and took its final bow in August 2019, but not without first earning a Special Tony Award for the artistry behind the 20-foot-tall Kong.

Waitress

Singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles is behind the music and lyrics of Waitress: The Musical, which is based on the 2007 eponymous film starring Keri Russell.

In 2016, the show was nominated for four Tony Awards, including best musical and best original musical score. While Waitress concluded its initial run at Broadway’s Brooks Atkinson Theatre (now the Lena Horne Theatre) in January 2020, and then was at the Barrymore Theatre from September through December 2021, fans can stream a professionally filmed performance on HBO Max, with Bareilles in the lead as Jenna.

Groundhog Day

Based on the Bill Murray-starring movie from 1993, the Groundhog Day musical held its first run at the Old Vic theater in London for a little more than a month in 2016. It later opened on Broadway at the August Wilson Theatre, running from April 2017 to September that same year.

While the show didn’t take home any of its seven Tony nominations, it did win a Laurence Olivier Award for best new musical, with Andy Karl also winning for best actor in a leading role in a musical for his performance as Phil Connors.

Karl has played Phil in every major production of the musical, having starred in the original London run, Broadway, the 2023 London revival and the 2024 staging in Melbourne, Australia.

Amélie

The five-time Oscar-nominated indie rom-com about a whimsical do-gooder waitress (Audrey Tautou) was one of France’s biggest international successes in 2001.

Then, in 2017, Paris came to the Big Apple with a stage musical adaptation of Amélie, with Hamilton’s Phillipa Soo starring in the role. The production held performances at the Walter Kerr Theatre for a little more than a month.

Pretty Woman

Julia Roberts’ iconic rom-com got its own musical adaptation — with music from Bryan Adams, and Samantha Barks as Vivian Ward and Andy Karl as Edward Lewis — but it closed in August 2019 after exactly one year on the Great White Way.

The show toured in the U.S. from October 2021 to May 2023 and again from October 2023 to May 2025, and has been traveling in the U.K. since 2023.

Catch Me If You Can

Though Leonardo DiCaprio didn’t reprise his 2002 role of the world-famous impostor — we would have loved to hear him sing — Frank Abagnale Jr. was portrayed by Aaron Tveit on Broadway.

The Tom Hanks part in the movie, Carl Hanratty, was played to comedic perfection on stage by Norbert Leo Butz, who won the Tony for best performance by a leading actor in a musical for it.

Legally Blonde

Running on Broadway from April 2007 to October 2008, Legally Blonde’s musical adaptation stayed true to its roots (it opened with a number called “Omigod You Guys,” what more do you need to know?).

After Tony nominee Laura Bell Bundy originated the role of Elle Woods on Broadway (made famous by Reese Witherspoon in the movie), her replacement was cast via an MTV reality show hosted by Haylie Duff. (Spoiler alert: Bailey Hanks won.)

Silence of the Lambs

The 1991 Oscar-winning film about cannibalism and murder may seem like the least likely source for a musical — but that didn’t stop composer duo Jon and Al Kaplan from creating Silence! The Musical, a parody that reimagines the story with dark humor (and tap-dancing lambs).

Though its off-Broadway debut at the 2005 New York International Fringe Festival lasted just two weeks, the show broke box office records and gained a cult following, eventually returning for a longer run in 2011.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Turns out, there’s more overlap than we thought among slapstick-comedy-loving people and theatergoers. Spamalot (the stage musical adaptation of 1975’s Monty Python and the Holy Grail), which starred Tim Curry, had a successful four-year Broadway run, and won a Tony Award for best musical. Mike Nichols also received one for best direction of a musical and Sara Ramirez for featured actress in a musical. The show even nabbed a Grammy for best musical show album.

While a planned Spamalot movie adaptation was canceled in 2023, the show was revived on Broadway from October 2023 to April 2024 and has a planned national tour for fall of 2025. The original film celebrated its 50th anniversary this April.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

The 1988 crime comedy starring Steve Martin and Michael Caine, in which the two played con men trying to swindle an heiress (Glenne Headly) out of $50,000, is lauded as one of the funniest films in history.

The musical, however, was met with lukewarm reviews, but managed to run for more than a year on Broadway; earn 11 Tony Award nominations — with Norbert Leo Butz winning best actor in a musical for his performance as Freddy Benson (originated by Martin) — and made its way to London’s West End from 2014 to 2015 and a concert production in November 2024.

Sunset Boulevard

If Les Misérables has taught us anything, it’s that a musical doesn’t need to be happy to be a hit. Same with Andrew Lloyd Webber’s show, which had a nearly four-year run in London.

Now the dramatic storyline is making headlines with its Tony-winning Broadway revival, by way of a successful 2023 run in the West End — starring former Pussycat Dolls member Nicole Scherzinger as Norma Desmond, who won the 2025 Tony for best performance by an actress in a leading role in a musical.

8½

Federico Fellini’s critically acclaimed 1963 film is artsy and dark. Meanwhile, the onstage version, called Nine (which might sound familiar thanks to its 2009 movie adaptation starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman, Penélope Cruz, Kate Hudson and more) features loosely similar characters but delivers a totally different vibe.

After Nine premiered on Broadway in 1982, it won five out of its 12 Tony nominations, including best musical and best original musical score. In 2003, the show returned to Broadway — starring Antonio Banderas, Mary Stuart Masterson, and Jane Krakowski, among others — and later won the Tony for best revival of a musical.

Billy Elliot

While dance is an integral part of the movie, Stephen Daldry’s Billy Elliot (2000) wasn’t exactly West Side Story (1961). That said, the stage musical adaptation — featuring original music by Elton John — ran for more than a decade on London’s West End beginning in March 2005.

The original Broadway production was also a smash hit, running at the Imperial Theatre from October 2008 to January 2012. The show earned 15 Tony Award nominations — tying The Producers for the most ever at the time — and won 10, including best musical, best book of a musical and more.

School of Rock

Andrew Lloyd Webber, the master of the “rock opera,” composed the score of this musical adaptation of Richard Linklater’s 2000 comedy starring Jack Black.

The show ran at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre from December 2014 to January 2019, and was nominated for four Tony Awards.

Shrek

He may be a green ogre and, well, a cartoon, but that didn’t stop him from making his way to the stage.

Shrek the Musical hit N.Y.C. in 2008 and lasted for a year — and as you might expect for the main character (played by Brian d’Arcy James), much of that year was spent in makeup, which explains why they won the Tony for best costume design.

Rocky

Director John G. Avildsen’s 1978 sports drama Rocky produced one of the most memorable film scores ever, and some might argue that Mr. Balboa’s (Sylvester Stallone) climb up those steps in Philly was well-choreographed. So, it may come as no surprise that a film about a brute boxer made it to the stage.

After the musical premiered in Germany in 2012, it came to Broadway in February 2014, closing that August, with Andy Karl in the title role. The stage at the Winter Garden Theatre transformed into an actual boxing ring for the big fight between Rocky and Apollo Creed at the end of each performance, deservedly earning the show’s Tony for best scenic design.

The Wedding Singer

Music may be an integral part of the flick (after all, the word singer is in the title), but perhaps the film was best left as a rom-com: The musical adaptation closed in December 2006 after five months on Broadway.

Elf

Singing loud for all to hear is synonymous with Buddy the Elf, so it’s no surprise his story ended up a stage musical.

Elf the Musical played on Broadway during the winter holiday seasons of 2010 and 2012. The show then reopened in 2024 to a high-grossing limited revival with Grey Henson as Buddy and Sean Astin as Santa.

Spider-Man

Stunts and special effects are one thing when they’re in a movie; they are an entirely different beast when you’re dealing with a live performance. But still, the creators behind Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark remained undaunted, even when faced with a seemingly endless stream of pre-opening night flubs.

However, the stunts ended up being their downfall: Though the show started previews in November 2010 and ran until January 2014, one of the main reported reasons for the musical’s closure, per the New York Post, was the loss of injury insurance for cast members.