It’s not a new idea to adapt a beloved film into a stage production, and many times the stage show ends up becoming a classic in its own right – sometimes even overshadowing the film.
Film News Blitz writer Jude Chisman explores the top five, and the singular worst, silver screen to stage adaptations.
5 – My Neighbour Totoro
The 1988 animated classic from Japan’s Studio Ghibli first opened in the Barbican in London in 2022 and was met with instant praise.
The West End production of the show opened in March 2025 has met outstanding reviews amongst critics and theatre fans alike.
The production features music from Joe Hisaishi, known for his melodic and calming Studio Ghibli soundtracks.
Much like the Lion King, the show blends puppetry and human actors on stage to bring the fantastical world from My Neighbour Totoro to film.
It is showing on the West End until January 2027 and is definitely a must-see.
4 – Matilda
Matilda has been adapted over and over again, from the original book by Roald Dahl, the 1996 film directed by Danny Devito and the new Netflix adaptation of the stage play, but the one adaptation to be met with the highest praise and to have best survived the test of time is the West End Matilda the musical.
Celebrating 15 years on stage this year, the musical has been loved by many for years and is the winner of over 100 international awards – 25 of those being for best musical.
The original cast recording from 2011 still has 444.2K monthly listeners on Spotify, surpassing the 432.9K listeners that the Netflix adaptation from 2022 has.
Again, you can catch this show on the West End, and it doesn’t look like it’s going away any time soon.
3 – Hairspray
When people think of Hairspray, they typically think of the 2007 film starring Nikki Blonsky and Zac Efron that’s based on the 2002 musical.
The beloved musical is actually based on the cult classic comedy from 1988 directed by John Waters.
The film starred the iconic Debby Harry, Divine and Sonny Bono, and is a homage to the 1960’s in the most John Waters way imaginable.
The original had the same story and message as both the musical and movie-musical – but actually wasn’t a musical at all.
Winning eight Tony awards and four Olivier awards, the success of the musical is undeniable.
The Musical is touring the UK/Ireland in 2027 and is definitely worth seeing, especially if you’re a fan of both the original 80’s film or the 2000’s adaptation.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: TV analysis: Is Netflix dumbing down shows on purpose to accommodate scrolling?
2 – Little Shop of Horrors
Many people tend to think that the musical is what originated the story, but it actually is based on a black and white horror comedy from the 1960’s by the same name.
The original film was not a huge box office success but it did gain a cult following, leading to the creation of the musical and then the later movie-musical that has become iconic in its own right.
The musical has become one of the longest running off-Broadway shows of all time, stretching over 30 years so far, and it has exceeded its original cult following to become one of the most popular musicals of all time.
Unfortunately, Little Shop of Horrors has not received any news of a London revival anytime soon, but if you’re missing the musical, the 1986 film is a very faithful adaptation to the stage show.
1- Heathers
It would be hard to discuss film to stage adaptations and not talk about Heathers the musical.
It’s hard to out-do any film where your lead is Winona Ryder, but the 2010’s musical has taken the name of the 1980’s film and reinvented it.
The movie still has its cult following to this day – the musical, however, is one of the most popular from the last 20 years and has reached audiences across the globe.
Having runs in London, New York, North America, the UK/Ireland and Australia, the best new musical winner has met positive praise from critics across its multiple productions.
It’s hard to find a musical theatre fan who hasn’t gone back to this soundtrack at least once or twice.
Heathers is now more synonymous with the stage than the silver screen, showing how it made its own name separate to the source material, cementing its status as an iconic film to stage adaptation.
The worst
Spiderman: Turn off the dark
The most expensive Broadway production in history, Spiderman: Turn off the dark, only ran for three years from 2011 to 2014 and is projected to have lost up to $60 million USD.
The story of the show blended elements from the multiple Spiderman films, the Marvel comics and Greek mythology, having the main villain of the show based on Arachne, and having a modern Greek chorus narrate the show.
The short history of the show ended with six people being injured, a monumental loss of money and a soundtrack that sounds not like anything you’d expect to hear on Broadway, thanks to U2’s Bono and The Edge.
Since the failure of Spiderman: Turn off the dark, there haven’t been any notable superhero musical adaptations and maybe that’s for the best.
READ MORE BY JUDE CHISMAN: The real questions people are asking about Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’
