I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix led the weekend box office, but Hairspray was the word, delivering the biggest opening on record for a musical, even when ticket price inflation is taken into account.
New Line Cinema's early Sixties-themed musical based on the Broadway show that was based on John Waters' picture of the same name spritzed a lustrous estimated $27.8 million on approximately 3,900 screens at 3,121 theaters, the widest release ever for the genre. The 1988 original, also released by New Line, grossed $6.7 million in its entire run, the equivalent of roughly $11 million today.
I am proud and extremely surprised that Hairspray managed to gross this much money. Musicals just have not done well at the Box Office. Dreamgirls and Chicago only passed the $100 million mark when they were showered with award nominations. Hopefully, Hairspray will outgross those films. I guess star power and a family fun theme go a looong way....all the way to the bank.
