Advertisement
Prime Video is bringing The Greatest Showman to its library on June 1, giving viewers another reason to revisit or finally watch one of Hugh Jackman’s most talked-about roles outside the world of adamantium claws. (Via Collider) Even though the 56-year-old is widely associated with Wolverine, there’s a sizeable crowd that links Jackman’s name with PT Barnum, the ringmaster of spectacle and song.
The Greatest Showman tells the inspiring story of P.T. Barnum, a dreamer who rises from poverty to revolutionize entertainment with his extraordinary circus. Driven by imagination and a desire to create something never seen before, Barnum brings together a group of outcasts and turns them into stars. As he chases success and social acceptance, he learns valuable lessons about love, identity, and what truly matters. The film blends emotion, spectacle, and song into a feel-good cinematic journey.
The film, released in 2017, didn’t exactly sweep critics off their feet. It landed a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes, a number that usually sends studios into damage control.
Advertisement
Sam Adams of Slate praised the movie, “Like Barnum himself, it’s an elegant fraud, nice enough to look at as long as you don’t look too close.” Nicholas Barber of BBC echoed, “… [Hugh Jackman’s] feel-good new film, The Greatest Showman, is where he truly gets to unleash his inner trouper, and he barely stops singing, dancing and flicking around a top hat from beginning to end.”
However, Richard Brody of The New Yorker opined, “The director, Michael Gracey, delivers quick doses of excitement in splashy scenes but has little feel for the choreographic action, offers scant historical substance, and displays slender dramatic insight.” Kevin Maher of Times (UK) backed up, “ll along you wonder how a story with so much potential could become a movie with so much wall-to-wall nothing.”
Audiences, though, had other plans. The Popcorn score climbed to an impressive 86%, suggesting that people left theaters with tunes stuck in their heads and possibly tears in their eyes.
One user tweeted on X, “the greatest showman is one of my favorites movies😭😭😭😭.” Another wrote, “Possible the greatest musical I’ve ever seen…!!! Hats off to Hugh Hackman and the entire cast of “ The Greatest Showman “…..”
the greatest showman is one of my favorites movies😭😭😭😭
— val ๋࣭ ⭑⚝ (@fooshstoess) May 27, 2025
Possible the greatest musical I’ve ever seen…!!! Hats off to Hugh Hackman and the entire cast of “ The Greatest Showman “….. pic.twitter.com/C8y8ZRnbXN
— JDPosill (@JPosill96270) May 23, 2025
A third added, “One of the best musicals I’ve ever seen is the greatest showman.” One more user said, “Watched The Greatest Showman again last night and omfg I’ll never get over this movie.”
One of the best musicals I’ve ever seen is the greatest showman.
— geamxd.dev (@musa__godwin) May 26, 2025
Watched The Greatest Showman again last night and omfg I’ll never get over this movie pic.twitter.com/QlKW7gx3v3
— Bia ✯ ! (@kanaenawives) May 17, 2025
Despite its lukewarm reception from critics, The Greatest Showman found firm footing at the box office, raking in $469 million globally (per Box Office Mojo). That’s more than five times its production cost, which hovered around $84 million.
The film ropes in a cast built for big musical numbers alongside Jackman. Michelle Williams plays Charity, Barnum’s wife, while Zac Efron steps into the role of Phillip Carlyle, a partner pulled into Barnum’s whirlwind. Zendaya appears as Anne Wheeler, the graceful trapeze artist who brings elegance. Rebecca Ferguson also features, well before she crossed paths with Jackman again in Reminiscence.
The movie, directed by Michael Gracey, who later took on the Robbie Williams biopic Better Man, and penned by Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon, blends stylized storytelling with high-energy performances.
The Greatest Showman premieres on Prime Video on June 1.
For more such recommendations, check out What to Watch on Koimoi!
Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube | Google News
Advertisement
