‘Kiss of the Spider-Woman’ Director Says Studios Don’t Want Musicals

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Bill Condon is a leading director of musical films in recent decades. He wrote the screenplay for the award-winning *Chicago* and directed popular musicals like *Dreamgirls* and the live-action *Beauty and the Beast*. His current project, *Kiss of the Spider Woman*, is based on the well-known stage musical and a novel from 1972. Because of his extensive experience, Condon is uniquely positioned to discuss the current state of movie musicals and why Hollywood seems hesitant to make them these days.

In a recent interview with *The Hollywood Reporter*, director Rob Marshall reflected on the historically precarious position of movie musicals. He pointed out that the genre has faced challenges almost since its beginning with *The Jazz Singer*, noting that by 1929, audiences were already experiencing “musical fatigue” and films began cutting songs. While there have been periodic revivals – like with *Moulin Rouge!*, *Chicago*, and *Dreamgirls* – Marshall believes each new musical carries the pressure of ensuring the genre’s survival. He explained that if a few musicals don’t succeed at the box office, it can quickly lead to a widespread aversion to the entire genre.

Condon noted that even with successful movie musicals like *Wicked*, studios and streaming services remain cautious about investing in more.

Streamers are facing a real problem with musicals lately. I’ve spoken with people at Netflix, and they closely track how long viewers keep watching. They’ve noticed that many viewers tune out after the first musical number. Netflix has invested heavily in musicals over the past few years, and now it’s become a difficult area for them. Major investors are currently hesitant to fund musicals, so they’ll likely continue to face challenges. While films like *Beauty and the Beast* and *Wicked* have been incredibly successful, people tend to attribute that success to the popularity of the source material itself, rather than a genuine demand for musicals.

What Musicals and Superhero Movies Have in Common


Universal Pictures

Film critic Peter Condon has observed that many viewers quickly lose interest as soon as they realize a movie is a musical, which explains why recent films like *The Color Purple*, *Wonka*, *Mean Girls*, and *Wicked* have minimized the musical aspects in their trailers. While this strategy aims to attract a wider audience, it risks disappointing or even upsetting those who attend expecting something different. Animated musicals generally have an easier time with audiences, as demonstrated by the success of *KPop Demon Hunters*. However, live-action musicals face a bigger challenge in getting viewers to embrace the musical format.

The last ten years have been a bit of a rollercoaster for movie musicals. After the success of films like *La La Land* and *The Greatest Showman*, Disney’s live-action remakes – *Beauty and the Beast* and *Aladdin* – both made over a billion dollars. But the poor performance of *Cats* just before movie theaters closed during the pandemic seemed to start a trend of musicals failing to connect with audiences. 2021 saw a lot of new musicals released, including *In the Heights*, *Dear Evan Hansen*, and *West Side Story*, but none of them did particularly well in theaters. While *In the Heights* and *West Side Story* were critically acclaimed, *Encanto* didn’t perform well in cinemas but became a huge hit when it started streaming on Disney+. Similarly, Netflix’s *Tick, Tick… Boom!* was popular with viewers, though it’s hard to measure exactly how successful it was.

Back in 2021, some people thought musicals were losing popularity, similar to how some recently dismissed superhero movies. However, despite that thinking, superhero films continue to be huge box office successes. The continued popularity of *Wicked* and the excitement surrounding its sequel, *Wicked for Good*, proved that audiences will still go to musicals if they’re appealing. Perhaps we should avoid making broad generalizations about entire genres, as history shows they often experience revivals when they seem to be fading away.

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2025-10-06 16:18