'Bohemian Rhapsody' Sing-Along Screenings Are Coming To Rock A Theater Near You
Congratulations Bohemian Rhapsody, you've just won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Drama! What are you going to do next? Well, if you're one of the biggest musical biopics in the history of cinema, you go on a theater tour where audiences can sing along with all the best-known Queen songs on the soundtrack. These Bohemian Rhapsody sing-along screenings will open across the U.S starting this weekend, and are sure to be a night of fun. It's a perfect way to keep warm this winter.
It's also a perfect way to help the film along in the campaign for Oscar glory. Voting for the 91st Academy Awards opened last week and will run through until Monday the 14th. Getting the film re-released in theaters as a fun sing-along experience is a way to remind Academy voters of the film's popularity.
The goal is also probably to get a few of them out into theaters in the Los Angeles and New York area to see it again in a fan-heavy setting just before voting closes. It's a celebration of the film's success, as the movie also earned no less than seven BAFTA nominations and two SAG-AFTRA nominations as well. But it's also a push along the road to keep the party rolling, hopefully into a few Oscar nominations as well.
Bohemian Rhapsody's success at the Globes was a bit of a shock to those involved. (The producer actually said as much when he reached the mic after being announced as the winner for the Best Picture Drama category.) The movie was initially announced back in 2010, with Sacha Baron Cohen attached to star. But differences behind the scenes as to how to focus the film stalled the script and Cohen eventually walked away. The movie then sat in development hell until Rami Malek was cast a few years later, with director Bryan Singer brought aboard to helm the film.
Unfortunately, Singer and Malek did not get along, by all accounts. After several reported blowouts, Singer eventually walked off the set never to return, leaving the film to be completed by others. Nor were the reviews very kind, with many calling it a jumped up VH-1 Behind-the-Music episode, and several pointing out how the historical inaccuracies were played to make Mercury's life look more tragic than it was.
But despite the odds, the film has been a massive hit, bringing in $195 million since it's release in November domestically and $747 million worldwide. It is the highest-grossing music biopic in history and has dethroned The Birdcage as the most profitable movie featuring LGBTQ characters in lead roles. And now, it's coming to theaters where fans will be encouraged to sing along to the songs that made Queen and Freddie Mercury famous.
This specialty edition of the film is opening in 750 across the U.S., too many to list here. Check out Fandango's website to find a theater near you.
The 91st Academy Awards will air on ABC on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at 8 p.m. ET.