This May, a collection of movie musicals will grace the big screen at Regal Cinemas throughout the U.S. In its Musical Mayhem series, Regal hopes to inspire audiences with what senior vice president of US content Brooks LeBoeuf calls “one of cinema’s most powerful storytelling tools.”
“[Music is] what turns a great film into an unforgettable experience,” LeBoeuf continued in a statement. “The ‘Musical Mayhem’ series spotlights the most watchable and listenable movies across the history of cinema in our theaters where these big-screen productions were meant to be seen and heard.”
Musical Mayhem will spotlight a diverse range of movie musicals at select theaters. First, from May 1 to May 7, its Music Icons in the Movies series will feature films headed up by some of music’s biggest stars: Beyoncé and Mos Def in “Cadillac Records,” Lady Gaga in “A Star Is Born,” Prince in “Purple Rain,” Cher and Christina Aguilera in “Burlesque” and Jennifer Lopez in “Selena,” to name a few.
The following week, May 8-14, will feature stage-to-screen adaptations: works that originated as stage musicals, before being made into movies. This will include “Chicago,” “Grease,” “Mamma Mia!,” “Cabaret” and “The Phantom of the Opera.” The week after will go in the other direction, with movies that were eventually made into stage musicals; this includes “Hairspray,” “School of Rock,” “An American in Paris,” and “Moulin Rouge!”
Week four, May 22-28, is titled Movies with Great Soundtracks, featuring “Straight Outta Compton,” “The Blues Brothers,” and “Pitch Perfect.” Finally, May 29-31 will spotlight Bold Musicals, including cult classics “Repo! The Genetic Opera” and “Little Shop of Horrors” along with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “In the Heights.”
In addition, family friendly musical programming will be available on weekends during the Musical Mayhem series: “Trolls World Tour” from May 2-3, “Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile” from May 9-10, “The Prince of Egypt” from May 16-17 and “Sing 2” from May 23-24.
“At Regal, we see theatrical exhibition as part of a broader storytelling ecosystem — one that spans film, television and live theater,” LeBoeuf told Broadway News. Programming like Musical Mayhem is designed to connect those worlds, offering an accessible entry point for audiences. Musicals, in particular, are uniquely suited to the theatrical environment in a way that doesn’t necessarily translate at home.”
“We’ve also seen consistently strong engagement with music-driven films, which often encourage repeat viewings and a shared, participatory atmosphere. May is a natural window to program them, with Mother’s Day and early summer audiences favoring broadly appealing, multi-generational titles that encourage shared viewing.”
Musical Mayhem screenings are set to play in over 200 Regal locations nationwide. Programming is chosen market to market based on screen availability and local audience trends; according to LeBoeuf, “Larger complexes with greater screen capacity allow us to engage more deeply with specialty programming like this.”
A full list of the programming for Regal’s Musical Mayhem series is below.
Week One: Music Icons in the Movies
May 1: “8 Mile”
May 2: “A Star is Born”
May 3: “Purple Rain”
May 4: “Cadillac Records”
May 5: “Selena”
May 6: “Burlesque”
May 7: “Yesterday”
Week Two: Stage to Screen
May 8: “Chicago”
May 9: “Grease”
May 10: “Mamma Mia!”
May 11: “Cabaret”
May 12: “Les Misérables”
May 13: “The Phantom of the Opera”
May 14: “Funny Girl”
Week Three: Screen to Stage
May 15: “Hairspray”
May 16: “School of Rock”
May 17: “Footloose”
May 18: “An American in Paris”
May 19: “Singin’ in the Rain”
May 20: “Moulin Rouge!”
May 21: “Almost Famous”
Week Four: Movies with Great Soundtracks
May 22: “Straight Outta Compton”
May 23: “Pitch Perfect”
May 24: “Baby Driver”
May 25: “The Blues Brothers”
May 26: “Rocketman”
May 27: “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping”
May 28: “Inside Llewyn Davis”
Week Five: Bold Musicals
May 29: “Repo! The Genetic Opera”
May 30: “In the Heights”
May 31: “Little Shop of Horrors”
