Popular movies can make a lot of money during their theatrical run, but studios love the ancillary income that comes from broadcast TV, streaming, merchandise - and soundtracks.
Below are 10 movie soundtracks that are far more popular than the movies themselves, including a few where we’ve forgotten there was a movie to begin with. This is not a precise ranking, and we’ve excluded popular movies with killer soundtracks like Forrest Gump, Grease, and Guardians of the Galaxy; and one-hit-wonders for top films like Titanic, Stand by Me, and The Bodyguard, which is the top-selling soundtrack of all time.
We’ve also excluded popular Disney movies like The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Frozen, Beauty and the Beast, and most of the James Bond films, but we’re extending an honorable mention to Nightmare Before Christmas, where everything about the production was more popular than the movie. All relevant statistics have been sourced via the RIAA and Box Office Mojo.
Saturday Night Fever
Saturday Night Fever makes the list because, although the movie was a big hit in 1976, the soundtrack was the #1 album for 24 weeks in the US, shipping 21 million units worldwide (before streaming) and counting. Five of the singles released hit #1 on Billboard charts in the US.
Saturday Night Fever made pedestrian Australian trio the Bee Gees into international stars, and propelled John Travolta from TV to film stardom (to this day). A sequel in 1983, Staying Alive, was unpopular on screen and on the radio.
That Thing You Do
One of Tom Hanks’ two directorial efforts (along with Larry Crowne), That Thing You Do gave audiences a nostalgic look at the birth of pop in the 60s, and its soundtrack was a mild success. Although the film only made $34 million in theatres, there were enough hits on the soundtrack beyond the title track to sell over 500,000 copies.
Neither film nor soundtrack set the world on fire, which is a shame because That Thing You Do is an enjoyable, underrated film. Look for star Charlize Theron in a small role as a vacuous girlfriend unable to appreciate the band’s talent.
Trainspotting
Danny Boyle’s cinematic stomach-punch triggered a rebirth in gritty UK productions and ushered in a Britpop soundtrack that sold well in the UK and beyond. Trainspotting helped set up the careers of Ewan McGregor and Robert Carlyle, and was a critical success on both sides of the Atlantic.
Although the soundtrack carries an eclectic mix of songs, it’s hard not to think of the film without hearing the aggressive drumming in the first few bars of Iggy Pop’s Lust for Life.
O Brother Where Art Thou
One of 2 country albums on our list - and when we say “country,” for O Brother Where Art Thou we mean “old country,” as in pre-depression America where this cult-classic was set. Another in a long line of quirky Coen Brothers films, O Brother Where Art Thou was a partial retelling of Homer’s classic The Odyssey with George Clooney in the leading role.
But the soundtrack was an unexpected hit, gathering up and rerecording Dirty Thirties songs that predated today’s country music. It reached #1 on Billboard’s charts in 2000, and a reissue in 2011 boosted sales further.
Footloose
Nothing quite says “80s” like this cheery romp plotting the battle between a small midwest town that has banned dancing and a musical group of teenagers. The us-against-them theme helped make the soundtrack a rebellious hit, and the music graced nightclub dance-floors for a decade.
With charting songs from Kenny Loggins, Bonnie Tyler and Sammy Hagar, the soundtrack ruled that airways from 1984-1986 and sold over 9 million copies. Footloose made a star out of Kevin Bacon, but otherwise, there’s little culturally significant outside of the music.
The Jazz Singer
No, not the 1927 movie that ushered in the end of silent films, but the 1980 cinematic coronation of Neil Diamond, whose hits songs Love on the Rocks and America propelled this soundtrack to over 5 million units. The plot focuses on a young man trying to achieve musical stardom despite a restrictive upbringing, and features Sir Laurence Olivier as his father - but few cared about the cast, avoiding the theater while buying the soundtrack in droves. The Jazz Singer remains poorly reviewed on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb - but the soundtrack is still selling.
A Hard Day’s Night
A feature-length Beatles music video 25 years before MTV existed, some may have forgotten the 1964 film that accompanied their great music. With the Beatles ruling the airwaves at full power, it featured hits All My Loving, Can’t Buy Me Love, and the title track, and has sold an estimated 4.4 million copies worldwide.
The movie remains a curious entry in pop-culture history, included on some critics top 100 lists despite a box office less than $3 million. A Hard Days Night is worth viewing for Beatles fanatics and of course for the songs, but even the intentionally weird Yellow Submarine animated movie is more entertaining. A follow-up in 1965, Help!, fared poorly in theaters and on the radio.
Jesus Christ Superstar
This soundtrack’s popularity - approximately 5,500,000 albums sold - owes as much to the stage production recordings, of which some of its sales likely counted. But despite a triumphant run on Broadway, Jesus Christ Superstar was poorly received in cinemas in 1973, especially in the southern US and overseas.
It’s a soundtrack that has risen and fallen based on religious attitudes - which have shifted toward the album since its original release - and periodic revivals, including John Legend’s live performance on broadcast TV in 2018. Yvonne Elliman, who played Mary Magdalene in the film and performed the only charted hit I Don’t Know How to Love Him, sang on the wildly successful Saturday Night Fever soundtrack (above) 3 years later.
Pure Country
You may have never heard of this movie, but country music fans have heard of George Strait, and he achieved the biggest commercial success of his career from this soundtrack. The film was intended to showcase Strait’s dusty cowboy-singer personality and country songwriter skills, and boy-howdy did Strait come through on the latter – well beyond the studio’s hopes.
With over 6 million albums sold versus approximately $15 million in box office receipts, Pure Country cemented Strait’s reign as the King of Country in the early 90s - before dreadnought Garth Brooks stole the crown to the tune of 170 million records sold worldwide.
Purple Rain
There was never any doubt which soundtrack most eclipsed its movie forebear, as Prince’s seminal pop-funk album Purple Rain conquered the musical world in 1984. Few can remember more than a handful of scenes, but we all know the songs - like Let’s Go Crazy and When Doves Cry - which is a shame, as director Albert Magnoli’s biographical movie isn’t terrible. With an estimated 25 million worldwide albums sold, to say nothing of its streaming popularity, this soundtrack routinely ranks behind only Saturday Night Fever and The Bodyguard as the bestselling soundtrack of all time.
To understand its popularity, simply turn your cellphone flashlight on (or your lighter, if you still have one), wave it slowly back and forth, and say “purple rain” twice - and you’ll be instantly serenaded by whoever’s nearby.
