Wicked (2024) ranks first among these three prominent modern films adapted directly from Broadway musicals, followed by Les Misérables (2012) and Dear Evan Hansen (2021). That is an editorial ranking, not an industry consensus or a complete census of every adaptation. It weighs how well each film translates its musical onto screen, including its use of film form, performances, musical approach, and the demands of adapting the story.
How this ranking compares the films
The pool here is direct feature-film adaptations of Broadway musicals released from 2000 onward, limited to three prominent examples identified in NBCUniversal’s account of its movie-musical history: Wicked, Les Misérables, and Dear Evan Hansen. It is a selected comparison, not a claim to include every film that could fit the description.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Wicked 2-Film Collection - Blu-ray + Digital | $36.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Wicked (Blu-ray + Digital) | $11.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Wicked: For Good - Blu-ray + Digital | $12.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
|
Wicked: For Good (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital) | $27.49 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
|
Wicked - 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital | $14.62 | Buy on Amazon |
The order reflects a judgment about adaptation: whether the film gives its material room to work as cinema while preserving the musical’s characters and songs. Commercial reach is noted separately; a box-office total measures audience scale, not artistic quality.
The ranking
1. Wicked (2024)
Wicked takes the top spot for the ambition of its screen adaptation and for how clearly its first film establishes a story built around two central characters. The musical, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman, reimagines Oz through Elphaba and Glinda. Schwartz and Holzman both contributed to the film adaptation, directed by Jon M. Chu and produced by Marc Platt.
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Platt has said the story’s complexity and themes informed the decision to tell it across two films. The first follows Elphaba’s transformation; Platt described the second as following Glinda’s journey. That structure gives the film room to develop its first chapter rather than compress the entire stage story into one feature, though it also means the first film is not the whole arc.
The film’s reach is remarkable, but reach is not the reason for its ranking. NBCUniversal reported that Wicked had earned $700 million worldwide as of January 16, 2025—$460.6 million domestic and $240.4 million international—and described it then as the top-grossing stage-musical adaptation of all time. That is a dated studio-reported snapshot, not a permanent record or a measure of artistic merit.
Rank #2
- Digital Copy
The film follows a stage production with its own substantial history. NBCUniversal reports that the original Broadway production premiered in October 2003, won three Tony Awards and seven Drama Desk Awards, and had an original cast album that received a Grammy. The company also reports more than $6 billion in global stage receipts, 65 million attendees, and productions in more than 100 cities across 16 countries; those stage figures are published by NBCUniversal without a date on the cited page.
2. Les Misérables (2012)
Les Misérables earns second place as a conspicuous example of a musical adaptation making a production choice specific to film performance. Universal says director Tom Hooper had actors sing live on set, with orchestral accompaniment recorded later. Hooper explained that the approach was intended to give actors “the normal freedoms that they would have.”
Rank #3
That method is a meaningful contrast with a more conventionally pre-recorded musical performance: it prioritizes the actors’ freedom to shape a vocal moment during filming. It is not, by itself, proof that the result is better than another film’s musical approach. In this ranking, Les Misérables is a strong adaptation case, but Wicked edges it for the way its two-film plan accommodates the scale and character focus of its story.
3. Dear Evan Hansen (2021)
Dear Evan Hansen belongs in the comparison as another direct Broadway-to-film adaptation, but the available evidence here does not establish a distinctive screen technique or comparable production detail that would justify ranking it above the other two. It takes third place in this particular editorial ordering, not as a verdict on its audience or on the stage musical’s value.
Rank #4
- Runtime: 138 minutes
What the comparison says about Wicked
Wicked has the strongest position in this three-film comparison because its adaptation strategy is unusually explicit: the creators chose two films to give a complex story more space, and the film retains involvement from the musical’s original writer and composer-lyricist. The trade-off is equally clear: the first installment concentrates on Elphaba’s transformation, while the story’s larger character journey continues beyond it.
The underlying musical is based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel, as the official musical synopsis notes. NBCUniversal’s reported box-office figure demonstrates the film’s exceptional scale as of January 16, 2025; it should not be confused with a critical ranking or an all-time record guaranteed to remain current.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Genre: Musical
- Number of Discs: 1
- Number of Tracks: 0
- Rating: PG
- Director: Jon M. Chu
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