Summary

• While many movie musicals convey positive messages, a significant portion of them also end on a tragic note.
• For example, Tim Burton's Sweeney Todd incorporates his gothic style and collaborators, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, in a dark and tragic tale of vengeance and murder.
• Moulin Rouge tells a tragic love story set in Paris, with a star-crossed romance.

Though movie musicals are often known for being joyously lighthearted, there are many with tragic endings. The best of these musicals leverage powerful and stirring melodies to convey profound emotional stakes, immersing their audiences in deeply moving narratives. This genre, known for its larger-than-life expression, employs the transformative power of song to convey unwavering and intensely ionate emotions. While many musicals are known for being cheerful and bubbly, an equal number use the heightened emotions of music to tell heart-wrenching stories of anguish.

Despite the evolution of musicals from the classic song-and-dance extravaganzas of the 1930s to the 1950s, there remains a strong interest in the genre among contemporary directors. This is evident in musical movies in La La Land, and even independent filmmakers like Benjamin Millepied, who recently directed a dance-centric adaptation of Carmen, starring Melissa Barrera and Paul Mescal. While many movie musicals convey hopeful and positive messages, a significant portion of them also conclude on a tragic note.

Related: The 35 Best Musicals Of All Time

10 Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

2007

In his adaptation of the stage musical Sweeney Todd, Tim Burton incorporates his signature gothic aesthetic, dark humor, and his frequent collaborators Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. The film centers on a barber unjustly imprisoned for 15 years by a Judge seeking to take his wife. Driven by vengeance, Sweeney uses his razor to slay unsuspecting customers, with his accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, turning their remains into meat pies for her shop. The already somber tale takes a tragic turn when Sweeney mistakenly kills a beggar woman, who, unbeknownst to him, is his wife, whom he believed to be dead but who had actually consumed poison in her despair.

9 Little Shop of Horrors

1986

A silly, hilarious comedy, Little Shop of Horrors revolves around Seymour, a nerdy orphan employed at a flower shop, and a talking man-eating plant, which lures in customers and offers him the promise of wealth and fame. The ending of the film sees Seymour realize that he has to destroy the plant before it can be propagated and become a threat to humanity. He succeeds in destroying the plant and the film's ending sees Seymour and his love interest Audrey wed and move in together. However, in the final shot of the film, a miniature version of the plant can be seen growing in their garden, suggesting there is more bloody mayhem to come.

8 Moulin Rouge!

2001

Set in the renowned cabaret venue the Moulin Rouge, in Paris, the film tells the story of an English poet named Christian, who falls in love with Satine, the star of the establishment. Their romance is complicated by Satine's employer, who promises her to the Duke of Monroth in exchange for financial . The Duke's subsequent attempts to eliminate Christian add further tension to the plot. Ultimately, the story takes a tragic turn when Satine succumbs to tuberculosis. In her final moments, she implores Christian to immortalize their love story through writing, believing it will ensure their eternal presence. Meanwhile, the Moulin Rouge ceases its operations and falls into disrepair.

7 West Side Story

2021

Based on Romeo and Juliet, both film adaptations of the iconic West Side Story follow the ill-fated romance of Maria and Tony, both associated with rivaling gangs. In both films, Tony kills Maria's older brother in retaliation for the death of his best friend, leading to the brother's friend hunting down Tony and eventually shooting him. As Tony lies dying in the street, Maria finds him and breaks down over his body, before taking the gun and threatening to kill each of the gang . Both films conclude with a moment of optimism, suggesting that the gangs might overcome their enmity, although Maria's dreams of a future with Tony are shattered.

6 Gypsy

1962

Adapted from the 1959 musical of the same name, which is in turn inspired by the autobiography of the renowned burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee, Gypsy portrays the life of her mother, Rose, the quintessential stage mother. Rose relentlessly drives her two daughters to pursue careers in entertainment, but only alienates one and irreparably damages her relationship with the other. Rose experiences a mental breakdown, realizing that she has attempted to live out her unfulfilled dreams by imposing them on her daughters. In the film's final moments, there is a glimmer of hope as Rose reconciles with Gypsy Rose. Nevertheless, it is a bittersweet reconciliation, as the scars of their troubled relationship are not easily healed.

5 Cabaret

1972

Set in pre-World War II Berlin, Cabaret tells the story of Sally Bowles, an American cabaret singer, who becomes entangled in a love triangle, while in the background of the story the Nazis are on the rise. Although based on the musical of the same name, the film adaptation diverges from the stage show, offering a less explicitly devastating ending. However, in both versions, Sally's love interest departs Berlin before the war, while Sally decides to remain, fearing change and attempting to shield herself from the world's unfolding atrocities. All the while, the Nazis gain power in the city.

4 The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

1964

Completely sung-through, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg classic follows a young woman, Geneviève, who falls in love with Guy, a mechanic, only for him to be drafted into the war. Though she still loves him, Geneviève chooses to move on and marries another man. When Guy returns from the war, he is devastated to find out she has moved away, but he too marries in an attempt to move on. The movie's final heartbreaking scene sees the two cross paths one final time, with the audience reminded sadly of their missed connection.

3 Hair

1979

In Hair, a young Oklahoma farm hand named Claude explores New York City on his way to enlist during the Vietnam War and has his view of the world forever changed when he meets a group of freewheeling hippies. At the end of the film, the 'tribe' leader Berger offers to pose as Claude for a headcount so Claude can meet the others and say goodbye. Just as Claude leaves, however, his base gets shipped out to Vietnam, with Berger still in his place. The film ends with the group months later surrounding Berger's grave after he has been killed in war.

2 Phantom of the Paradise

1974

This loose adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera is a unique blend of campy horror and glam rock set in a concert hall. The story follows record producer Swan, who steals songwriter Winslow's music and frames him for drug dealing. After his release from prison, Winslow returns unrecognizable. He hides in the concert hall and attempts to save singer Phoenix, who remains skeptical of his identity. Winslow attempts to take his own life but discovers that his fate is linked to Swan. Ultimately, Swan is killed, causing Winslow's fatal wound to reopen, and he succumbs to his injury. Phoenix finally recognizes him, albeit too late.

1 Les Misérables

2012

Director Tom Hooper brought the iconic musical to the big screen in 2012, assembling a star-studded cast. This emotionally powerful epic chronicles the journey of former prisoner Jean Valjean, his adopted daughter, and the relentless police inspector Javert, who pursued him for years. The movie also follows a group of student revolutionaries during the June Rebellion of 1832 in . While the film ends on a hopeful note, it includes Valjean's ing in which he encounters the spirits of others who have perished throughout the story, and finally with a profoundly moving reprise of 'Do You Hear The People Sing?' It is a beautiful moment and one of the most tragic movie musical endings.