We Ranked the 69 Best Movie Musicals of All Time, From 'West Side Story' to 'The Color Purple'

If you can't get enough of movie musicals, then get ready for a song-and-dance down memory lane. We've rounded up and ranked the all-time best movie musicals. Ever since the inaugural "talkie" The Jazz Singer was released in 1927 (itself not that great a film, sadly), the movie musical has evolved and endured. 

For this list of the best film musicals ever made, we're taking into account a picture's overall greatness, how well it's aged, re-watchability and impact on pop culture. In the case of stage-to-screen adaptations, we're judging based solely on the merits of the motion picture, not the source material. We've included classic animated musicals, but this list does not include music documentaries, non-singing dance films, or concert films (that includes Fantasia). To be clear: These are all outstanding, must-see musical films that we recommend everyone see at least once.

In ascending order, here is our ranking of the best movie musicals of all time. Unless otherwise specified, all titles are available to rent and purchase across major streaming platforms.

Related: The Best Dance Movies of All Time 

Best movie musicals of all time

69. Mean Girls (2024) 

While it may not have been advertised as a musical, the adaptation of the Broadway musical adaptation of the 2004 movie Mean Girls certainly contained some bangers. The Gen-Z take on the millennial classic starred Reneé Rapp as Regina George in a souped-up version of the story that also highlighted the best songs from the stage show. 

68. Pitch Perfect (2012)

Jason Moore's sly, giddily crowd-pleasing teen comedy—a cappella group The Bellas' first appearance—received positive reviews, and was a leggy sleeper hit at the box office. It also proved to be a Hollywood calling card for many members of its young, purely talented cast including Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and Adam DeVine. So-so Pitch Perfect 2 was an astounding box-office hit; the rushed, slipshod third outing was a thudding disappointment.

67. Moana (2016) 

Stunning 3D vistas and toe-tapping earworms are highlights of Disney Studios’ musical comedy adventure film about a Polynesian girl who sets out to save her island from a blight with the help of a demigod. The story is pretty routine, but the audiovisual loveliness is transporting. Nominated for a Best Animated Feature Oscar, losing to the same studio’s Zootopia.

66. Hairspray (2007)

Based on a 1988 John Waters comedy and the Broadway sensation it inspired, this blissful family comedy deals with the racial tensions of 1960s Baltimore. The seriously impressive cast includes John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, James Marsden, Amanda Bynes, Christopher Walken, Allison Janney and Zac Efron—but Queen Latifah, who plays record shop owner Maybelle “Motormouth” Stubbs, is perhaps the best part of Hairspray thanks to her stirring performance of “I Know Where I’ve Been.”

65. The Jungle Book (1967) 

Released 10 months after the death of Walt Disney (this is the final film he produced), The Jungle Book adapted Rudyard Kipling‘s 1894 book with memorable characters and catchy songs. Jon Favreau‘s electrifying 2016 live-action hybrid reimagining remains the high-water mark for Disney remakes, by a margin.

64. The King and I (1956)

Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II collaborated on many of the most iconic musicals ever made (and penned countless show-tune earworms that are ingrained in pop culture). Their fifth musical (a romance about governess Anna Leonowens and the King of Siam) is one of their most famous, adapted into a sumptuous film starring Yul Brynner (who won a Best Actor Oscar) and the ever-resplendent Deborah Kerr. The enterprise's place in history is undeniable and earned, though elements are unfortunately dated. (Emerald Fennell) savagely borrowed rather sexist "Something Wonderful" to extraordinary effect in Promising Young Woman.

63. Mamma Mia! (2008)

Featherweight but also pretty fabulous, this jukebox musical sees an all-star cast including Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth let their hair down in a Greek set family rom-com inspired by the immortal pop of ABBA. The best moment, hands down, is Streep's surprisingly emotional "The Winner Takes It All."

62. Gypsy (1993) 

A marked improvement over the mostly unremarkable 1962 theatrical film starring Rosalind Russell and Natalie Wood, the made-for-TV film—from the show—based on Gypsy Rose Lee's autobiography was a major vehicle for star Bette Midler the same year as Hocus Pocus. Nominated 12 Primetime Emmys including Best Made for Television Movie and Best Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Special.

61. Tommy: The Movie (1975)

That deaf, dumb and blind kid sure plays a mean pinball in an affably gonzo '70s acid trip. The Who's rock opera makes for wonderfully weird motion picture enlivened with committed performances. Roger Daltrey spearheads a cast including Ann-Margret. Oliver Reed, Elton John, Tina Turner and even Jack Nicholson.

60. Fame (1980)

Alan Parker‘s teen drama loosely inspired by A Chorus Line chronicles the life and times of students at New York City’s High School of Performing Arts. The picture is perhaps best known for its anthemic, Oscar-nominated title song.

59. The Color Purple (2023)

Blitz Bazawule's adaptation of the Broadway musical based on the Alice Walker novel (which was previously adapted by Steven Spielberg into the 1985 film) is everything a movie musical should be. Helmed by SINGERS like Fantasia Barrino, Taraji P. Henson, Danielle Brooks, Colman Domingo, Corey Hawkins, Halle Bailey and H.E.R., the vocals are unparalleled, but the movie never compromises singing for acting or vice versa. The cinematography is stunning, the choreography is joyous and compliments the story, and the performances are chef's kiss. While Barrino and Brooks have deservedly received raves, it's Henson's unsung performance as Shug Avery that binds the film together. 

58. Dreamgirls (2006)

Winner of two Oscars and three Golden Globes, director Bill Condon's vivid adaption of the Tony Award-winning 1981 stage musical—about a pop music group The Dreams and their struggles with fame and fortune—is uneven, but occasionally flat-out brilliant thanks to a star-making turn from Jennifer Hudson.