‘The Greatest Showman’ Soundtrack Was the Highest-Selling Album of 2018 by Far
“The Greatest Showman” was met by a so-so critical reception, but the P.T. Barnum biopic starring Hugh Jackman has taken on a life of its own. In addition to grossing $435 million and picking up Best Picture and Best Actor nods in the Golden Globes’ Musical or Comedy category, the film (or, more specifically, its soundtrack) outsold every other album released by year — and it isn’t even close. Not only was it the only album to sell more than a million copies, but its 1.3 million sales more than doubled that of its closest competitor, the soundtrack to “A Star Is Born,” which sold 525,000 albums.
That figure comes with a caveat, however, as the Bradley Cooper/Lady Gaga version of the musical and its accompanying OST weren’t released until early October. Still, it’s notable that the two highest-selling albums of the year were both soundtracks, a development that suggests musical-obsessed moviegoers are more inclined toward physical media in the streaming age than other groups.
According to BuzzAngle (per Variety), “The Greatest Showman” came in fourth when also accounting for streaming and “A Star Is Born” didn’t crack the top 25. Here’s the list of the year’s best-selling soundtracks:
“The Greatest Showman”
“A Star Is Born”
“Hamilton”
“Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix No. 1”
“Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again”
“Moana — Original Motion Picture Soundtrack”
“Coco: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack”
“Fifty Shades Freed”
“Black Panther: The Album (Music From and Inspired By)”
“Trolls”
“Mamma Mia! The Movie Soundtrack”
“Pitch Perfect 3: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack”
“Dear Evan Hansen: Original Broadway Cast Recording”
“Wicked — Broadway Cast”
“Deadpool 2”
“Stranger Things: Soundtrack From the Netflix Original Series”
“La La Land”
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi”
“Descendants 2 — Original TV Movie Soundtrack”
“Dirty Dancing”
“Frozen”
“Call Me By Your Name: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack”
“Moulin Rouge”
“Mean Girls”
“Frozen: The Songs”
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