The Lion King has been named the UK’s favorite big screen blockbuster turned stage musical, new national research has revealed today. The survey, conducted by Showcase Cinemas, saw the 1994 family favorite come out on top with 24 percent of the vote, narrowly beating out competition from 70s classic Grease (21 percent) and The Sound of Music (20 percent), starring Julie Andrews.
The ABBA jukebox musical Mamma Mia! took 19 percent of the vote, while another Julie Andrews classic, Mary Poppins (16 percent) also landed among the top five.
The study was carried out ahead of the highly anticipated release of stage musical turned blockbuster Wicked, which hits Showcase Cinemas nationwide on November 22. The film, adapted from the musical, details the relationship between Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo), who later becomes the Wicked Witch of the West and Galinda Upland (Ariana Grande), who later becomes Glinda the Good Witch of the North.
Elsewhere, the results found Dancing Quee’, from Mamma Mia! (13 percent) to be the nation’s favorite song from a big screen blockbuster/stage musical, with Les Misérables I Dreamed a Dream (9 percent) and The Music of the Night from The Phantom of the Opera (8 percent) rounding out the top three.
Jon Dixon, UK marketing director at Showcase Cinemas, said, “We can’t wait to see the magic of Wicked finally brought to life from the stage to the big screen. Our survey revealed more than four in ten say musicals are their favorite type of film, which equates to more than 28 million of us, so we’re expecting Wicked to be hugely popular.
“With a whole host of Wicked fans already in the UK, and Defying Gravity named the favorite song from the stage musical, we’re looking forward to welcoming customers for what is shaping up to be the cinematic event of the year.”
Top Ten Blockbusters That Are Also Stage Musicals
THE LION KING (24 percent)
GREASE (21 percent)
THE SOUND OF MUSIC (20 percent)
MAMMA MIA! (19 percent)
MARY POPPINS (16 percent)
LES MISERABLES (15 percent)
THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (14 percent)
BACK TO THE FUTURE (13 percent)
MATILDA (12 percent)
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (11 percent)
Top Five Songs From Wicked
DEFYING GRAVITY (12 percent)
AS LONG AS YOU’RE MINE (10 percent)
FOR GOOD (8 percent)
THE WIZARD AND I (7 percent)
WONDERFUL (5 percent)