By: Kayla Stephensen

The Greatest Showman, a family-friendly musical centered around the idea that what makes you different makes you special, premiered December 8, 2017, just a week before the latest Star Wars and Jumanji first showed. The first weekend, the movie was unimpressive, bringing in only $8.8 million compared to the more popular $36.2 million Jumanji opening weekend and $617.3 million Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Now after almost 3 months in the theaters, the show surprised even the directors with an impressive $319.7 million worldwide gross for the $82 million movie.

Much like the main character of The Greatest Showman, P.T. Barnum, played by Hugh Jackman, the directors did not give up when at first they did not succeed. Barnum took a different route to get audiences, finding real live people who would be sure to draw an audience. The directors of the musical tried having “sing-a-longs” and then they both relied on the power of the positive audience polls.

The critics were hardly kind to the movie, Rotten Tomatoes giving it “55% fresh,” but the audience polls told another story. After the second weekend, The Greatest Showman had made an additional $15.5 million. People who saw the movie spread its popularity through social media and word of mouth.