Musical movies have had us all shimmying here, there and everywhere. It’s no secret that the past few years have had some pretty major lows – but when the world all gets too much, we’ll always have this all-singing, all-dancing narrative for a bit of toe-tapping light relief.

And with the first trailer drop of Wicked: For Good – starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande – making such an impact right now, we want to explore this world a bit further.

Besides, there’s no better time than now to get invested in musical movies because there have never been so many to choose from, including hit song-studded biopics about famous musicians – such as 2022’s Whitney Houston biopic, I Wanna Dance with Somebody, the award-winning Elvis and 2021’s Respect (about Aretha Franklin). Arguably it all started with the Oscar-winning run of Rami Malek in Bohemian Rhapsody – the musical interpretation of Freddie Mercury’s wild life.

Then it wasn’t long until Elton John got in on the action by creating Rocketman, with Taron Egerton starring as the iconic singer (and tbh made us a little bit more obsessed with feathers, rhinestones and OTT sunglasses).

Alternatively, there are cinematic adaptations of West End and Broadway favourites, like the BAFTA-nominated Matilda The Musical, Hamilton, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, and the “never gets old” 2002 adaptation of Broadway hit Chicago, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones in her Oscar-winning star turn as Velma Kelly.

We’ve also seen modern remakes of classical musical films like Stephen Spielberg’s visually stunning take on West Side Story, starring Rachel Zegler, 2019’s Disney classic Aladdin, and A Star Is Born (it’s a tough call between Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper’s performance versus the OG Barbra Streisand, tbh – and we would not say that lightly).

Also in this category are animated musical films such as Cinderella, Encanto and, of course, the two Frozen movies – brought to us via Disney+. Not only these, but the other musical Disney movies have provided us with some serious power ballads. So, get that hairbrush ready! Or if you’re looking for a musical throwback to your younger Disney days, Hannah Montana: The Movie, starring Miley Cyrus, and Camp Rock starring Demi Lovato, are a must-watch if you were hiding under the rock back in the day and have yet to see them!

Either way, here is our definitive list of the 51 best – and only the best – musical movies, including ones to look forward to later this year.