The movie musical genre is a polarising one. You either love them or hate them. I've rarely met someone ambivalent about their charms. But for those that cannot resist them (or at least, the charms of a good one), then this list is for you.

We've done the digging and pulled out what we believe to be the best movie musicals out there. There are a couple of oldies, a few new kids, and plenty of killer soundtracks between them. We based this list on how faithful the adaptations were, how great the casting was, and how much fun we had watching them (the true measure of any good musical in our humble opinion).

In no particular order, 15 of the best movie musicals you can watch right now.

1. Dream Girls

A movie musical starring Beyoncé, Jennifer Hudson and Anika Noni Rose? It's the movie-musical with unmatched pipes and that glamorous Motown gloss. It's harrowing, elating, and has a hot-lick score. Watching Effie White get cast aside by Curtis’s relentless push for a more “marketable” image hits hard because it mirrors real music-industry erasures of Black female voices in the 60s.

2. Hairspray

I watched this in the cinema as a child and ever since, it's felt permanently burned into my brain. It's electric and hard-hitting all at once – a story that balances a teenagers fight to dance on a TV show (and win the love of Zac Efron in his prime no less) while also being about integration and the civil-rights battleground of a revolutionised 1960s America.

3. Chicago

One of the only movie-musicals to have taken out Best Picture at the Oscars, and for good reason. The story of Velma and Roxie’s sharp, cynical climb through the media circus, crime and showbiz, so dazzlingly captures the 1920s tabloid frenzy with wicked precision. And the songs are simply unbeatable. Mr Cellophane? Cell Block Tango? We Both Reached For The Gun??

4. Grease

It’s impossible not to get swept up in how Danny and Sandy’s mismatched summer romance cracks open the whole Rydell High social hierarchy. It says something about this film's greatness that people still quote “Tell me about it, stud” like it came out last week. And Frankie Valli did an A+ job with the soundtrack on this one too.

5. Mamma Mia!

Juggling three past romances on a sun-drenched Greek island? There's simply no better feel-good film. And Meryl Streep is there? Even better. But it’s also a surprisingly tender story about single-mother resilience, and honestly, the film revived ABBA for an entire new generation.

6. The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Camp at it's best. This one's a wild blend of sci-fi and sexual liberation, blowing the doors off traditional moviegoing and turning midnight screenings turned it into a cult ritual for decades. The film’s unapologetic celebration of identity – long before mainstream conversations about gender fluidity – still feels rebellious even today.

7. La La Land

While not based on a musical predecessor, La La Land does have a place on this list in our minds. And that opening freeway number was magic, and that bittersweet final sequence, where Mia and Sebastian imagine the life they didn’t choose, hits like a punch.

8. Funny Girl

Barbra Streisand practically detonates the screen as Fanny Brice, especially in Don’t Rain on My Parade, capturing Brice’s fearless ambition against a world that doubts her. And the movie doesn't sanitise her rocky marriage to Nicky Arnstein, which keeps it grounded in the messy reality of fame.

9. Matilda

The movie-turned-musical-turned-movie-musical was surprisingly not lost in translation and has. spectacular soundtrack courtesy of Aussie musical genius Tim Minchin. Turning her telekinetic powers into a rebellion against Miss Trunchbull, Matilda proves kids can be the heroes of their own revolution.

10. Annie

Annie walked so Matilda could run. The original precocious orphan of Broadway, Annie’s relentless optimism hits especially hard when you watch her navigate Depression-era New York with nothing but street smarts and a refusal to give up on her parents. It's been made and remade countlessly, but I have a particular fondness for this 1999 iteration starring Victor Garber as Daddy Warbucks and Kathy Bates as Miss Hannigan.

11. Wicked

The world is gearing up for Wicked's sequel this week, all thanks to the bright and brilliant adaptation from John M. Chu that found its way into our hearts last year. The relationship between Elphaba and Glinda is so heart-soaring and wildly funny. It's also one of the most faithful musical adaptations for those looking to check that box.

12. The Greatest Showman

Zendaya, Zac Efron and Hugh Jackman team up for this charming crowd-pleaser – with some standout hits like Rewrite the Stars and This Is Me (which earned an Academy Award nomination). It's a biographical musical film about P.T. Barnum's journey from a poor boy to a circus showman.

13. Rocketman

This one came out just after the success of Bohemian Rhapsody and never really got the praise and attention it deserved. It's the story of and by Elton John – his life being told through surreal musical sequences – like him levitating above the Troubadour crowd or rolling through the streets of London to Saturday Night's Alright. It lets you feel what fame actually did to his psyche and doesn’t shy away from his darkest addictions.

14. Footloose

Ren’s arrival in a town that literally bans dancing is so much more fun and enduring a story than expected. But there's something about that titular song that really does get you bouncing. I'd say if you're a fan of Grease this feels similar in energy.

15. Better Man

Okay, I had to throw in something unexpected but I really stand by this film's merit. Robbie Williams’ biographical musical-movie sees him portrayed as a CGI monkey that battles with addiction and self-destruction while using surreal, theatrical numbers to mirror the chaos inside his head. And if that sounds insane, it is. But it will also make you bawl your eyes out.