Hollywood Will Listen: Into the Woods Celebrates Biggest Movie Musical Opening Ever

Rob Marshall’s starry big-screen adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine musical Into the Woods celebrated the biggest opening weekend ever for a movie adapted from a Broadway musical, bringing in $46.1 million domestically. Overall, the film came in third at the box office over a long holiday weekend that started with its Christmas Day release, under The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies ($54.4 million) and Unbroken ($47.3 million).

The movie musical’s better-than-expected four-day grosses already make it the 14th most successful Broadway-to-Hollywood movie musical of the last 40 years, a list currently led by 1978’s Grease at $188.8 million. Interestingly, the screen redo of Annie, which opened on December 19, is also climbing the chart, currently in 15th place with $45.8 million in ticket sales.

The Into the Woods success is huge for director Marshall, who first razzle-dazzled Hollywood with his Oscar-winning Chicago film (which holds the #2 spot on the all-time list at $170.7 million), but failed to make his 2009 adaptation of Maury Yeston’s musical Nine a hit, earning just $19.6 million at the box office.

Curious to see how high both Into the Woods and Annie can climb the chart? Below is a list of the top 15 movie musicals that came from stage hits since 1974 and their U.S. grosses.

1. Grease (1978) - $188.8 million
2. Chicago (2002) - $170.7 million
3. Les Miserables (2012) - $148.8 million
4. Mamma Mia! (2008) - $144.1 million
5. Hairspray (2007) - $118.9 million
6. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) - $112.9 million
7. Dreamgirls (2006) - $103.4 million
8. The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982) - $68.7 million
9. Annie (1982) - $57 million
10. Sweeney Todd (2007) - $52.9 million
11. The Phantom of the Opera (2004) - $51.3 million
12. Evita (1996) - $50 million
13. Jersey Boys (2014) - $47 million
14. Into the Woods (2014) - $46.1 million*
15. Annie (2014) - $45.8 million*
*Still playing in theaters

Starring box office draws like Meryl Streep as the Witch, Johnny Depp as the Wolf, Emily Blunt as the Baker's Wife, Anna Kendrick as Cinderella and Chris Pine as Cinderella's Prince, Into the Woods also features many stage favorites in breakout turns, including James Corden as the Baker, Lilla Crawford as Little Red Riding Hood, Mackenzie Mauzy as Rapunzel and Billy Magnussen as Rapunzel's Prince.