Disney's High School Musical premiered in January 2006 to 7.7 million viewers. That's not a bad number, but it didn't set the stage for what ended up happening. Fast forward 30 months, and more than 250 million viewers have seen the film.
Even the music album took off. The first soundtrack became the #1 selling record in 2006 and the touring musical is expected to net $40 million in less than a year.
In fact, the squeal, “High School Musical 2,†unexpectedly became the most watched basic-cable show ever. Together, the two films have generated more than $100 million.
Being a marketing machine, Disney has now expanded beyond the show and musical to include: video games, a best-selling book series, an ice tour and a concert tour.
In short, this little show is now officially a 'surprise megahit'.
Next up, there will be a High School Musical Reality TV Series and, of course, High School Musical 3:
Surprise Megahits
High School Musical's Astronomical Success and Next Steps
Trend Themes
1. Multipurpose Entertainment Franchises - The success of High School Musical shows the potential for creating multi-platform entertainment franchises that include everything from movies to books, video games, tours, and more.
2. Expanding Into Reality TV - The upcoming High School Musical Reality TV Series demonstrates the trend of expanding successful franchises into new formats to further engage and entertain audiences.
3. Unprecedented Viewership Numbers - The astronomical success of High School Musical highlights the trend of shows and movies gaining immense popularity and reaching millions of viewers.
Industry Implications
1. Entertainment - The entertainment industry can explore creating multifaceted franchises that leverage various mediums to engage and captivate audiences.
2. Television - The television industry can embrace the trend of expanding successful shows into new formats like reality TV to attract a larger audience and generate new revenue streams.
3. Publishing - The publishing industry can tap into the success of franchises like High School Musical by creating popular book series that complement and expand the storylines portrayed in movies and TV shows.