Before Barbenheimer, there was The Dark Mamma. Two polar opposite movies going head-to-head at the box office, and both ending up huge successes in very different ways.

The film adaptation of Mamma Mia! was never planned to be Universal's big summer 2008 hit, in fact it wasn't until test screenings that they realised what a gem they had on their hands.

Mamma Mia! would not beat The Dark Knight at the box office, but it would blaze its own trail, for a jukebox musical based on a running stage production, showing that stories by women, about women and for women could also do big business.

But first, they had to persuade the producers of the stage musical to sell the film rights, and that took two things - Tom Hanks & Rita Wilson and the musical Chicago...

And then... they got Meryl!

I would love to hear your thoughts on Mamma Mia! !

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