57 Fun Facts About The Greatest Showman

Who directed The Greatest Showman?

Michael Gracey directed The Greatest Showman, his feature debut after years making commercials and music videos and working in visual effects.

In which year was The Greatest Showman released in US cinemas?

The Greatest Showman opened in US cinemas on December 20, 2017, a Wednesday, and grossed over $170 million domestically thanks to unusually small week-to-week drops.

Which actor plays Phillip Carlyle, the playwright who becomes Barnum's partner?

Zac Efron plays Phillip Carlyle, a character invented for the film; Efron was reported in talks for the role in June 2016.

Which actress plays Charity, Barnum's wife?

Michelle Williams plays Charity Barnum and sings on two soundtrack numbers, A Million Dreams and Tightrope.

Zendaya's character, Anne Wheeler, performs which circus act?

Anne Wheeler is a trapeze artist; Zendaya trained for weeks and performed most of her own aerial trapeze work on set.

Who plays the opera singer Jenny Lind?

Rebecca Ferguson plays opera singer Jenny Lind; her vocals were dubbed, so Ferguson lip-synced her showcase number on set.

Who provides Jenny Lind's singing voice in the film?

Loren Allred dubbed Jenny Lind's singing voice; her recording of Never Enough reached the Billboard Hot 100.

Which songwriting duo wrote all of the film's original songs?

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul wrote all of the film's original songs; the duo also wrote the songs for Dear Evan Hansen, which reached Broadway in 2016.

Which song from the film won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song?

This Is Me won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song and went on to an Academy Award nomination in the same category.

At the 90th Academy Awards, the film's nominated song lost Best Original Song to a track from which film?

Remember Me from Pixar's Coco won Best Original Song at the 90th Academy Awards, having already taken the Critics' Choice prize.

Which Broadway performer plays the bearded lady Lettie Lutz?

Keala Settle plays Lettie Lutz; she earned a Tony nomination for Hands on a Hardbody and originated Becky in Waitress on Broadway.

What was the film's production budget?

Deadline estimated the film would turn a profit of $50-100 million after a slow start at the box office.

Where was the film's December 2017 world premiere held?

The world premiere was held on December 8 aboard the Cunard ocean liner Queen Mary 2, with the ship docked in port for the night.

During which song did Hugh Jackman defy doctor's orders and sing at the 2016 Greatest Showman read-through?

From Now On closed the read-through: Jackman, told not to sing after surgery on his nose for skin cancer, stood and sang it anyway, and the studio greenlit the film.

Which Broadway performer sang Barnum's part at The Greatest Showman read-through while Jackman acted?

Jeremy Jordan, the Broadway star of Newsies, sang Barnum's part at the read-through while Jackman, recovering from surgery, acted the scenes.

Who choreographed The Greatest Showman?

Ashley Wallen choreographed The Greatest Showman, staging numbers including the bar-top duet The Other Side.

Rehearsals began in October 2016 in which location?

Rehearsals began in October 2016 in New York City, where principal photography then started on November 22, 2016.

How many years did The Greatest Showman take to develop?

The project was first announced in 2009 as The Greatest Showman on Earth, with Jackman already attached to the title role.

By roughly what percentage did the film's gross rise in its second US weekend?

The gross rose about 76%, from $8.8 million in the opening weekend to $15.5 million in the second, an exceptionally strong hold for a wide release.

Which film topped the US box office the weekend The Greatest Showman opened fourth?

Star Wars: The Last Jedi was number one in its second weekend, with Jumanji and Pitch Perfect 3 also ahead of The Greatest Showman's $8.8 million.

What grade did audiences polled by CinemaScore give the film?

Critics were far cooler, with a 56% Rotten Tomatoes score, but PostTrak found a 70% definite recommend.

Which studio distributed The Greatest Showman?

20th Century Fox distributed The Greatest Showman, opening it wide in US cinemas on December 20 ahead of the Christmas holiday.

Which director was reportedly brought onto The Greatest Showman as an executive producer during post-production?

James Mangold, fresh off Logan, was reportedly brought in during post-production and received an executive producer credit on The Greatest Showman.

Being taller than the real Tom Thumb, what did Sam Humphrey do to play Charles Stratton?

Sam Humphrey walked on his knees to play Charles Stratton, with visual effects hiding his legs; his voice was also digitally deepened.

The film's director went on to make Better Man, a biopic of which singer?

Better Man, the director's 2024 follow-up, is a Robbie Williams biopic built around his hits, including Angels and Rock DJ.

A stage adaptation of the film opened in spring 2026 in which UK city?

The stage musical of The Greatest Showman had its world premiere at the Bristol Hippodrome in spring 2026, its first staging anywhere.

A sequel was announced in 2019 but stalled after Disney ended its distribution deal with which production company?

Chernin Entertainment produced the original film; when its studio deal lapsed it signed a Netflix pact, leaving the sequel without a home.

How many original songs by the songwriting duo feature in the film?

The soundtrack runs to 11 tracks because two of the songs get reprises.

The soundtrack was the UK's best-selling album of which year?

The Greatest Showman soundtrack was the UK's best-selling album of 2018, finishing the year with more weeks at number one than any rival.

Which singer covered A Million Dreams on the Reimagined album, with her daughter singing the reprise?

Pink covered A Million Dreams on The Greatest Showman: Reimagined, with her daughter Willow Sage Hart singing A Million Dreams (Reprise).

Which artist covered Never Enough for The Greatest Showman: Reimagined?

Kelly Clarkson recorded Never Enough for The Greatest Showman: Reimagined, alongside covers by Kesha and Zac Brown Band.

Which band covered The Greatest Show on the Reimagined album?

Panic! at the Disco's cover of The Greatest Show was released as the lead single from The Greatest Showman: Reimagined, ahead of the full album.

Which duo covered Rewrite the Stars on the Reimagined album?

James Arthur and Anne-Marie, both English singers, recorded Rewrite the Stars for The Greatest Showman: Reimagined and released it as a single.

The Greatest Show, the film's opening number, later featured in which Marvel film?

Deadpool & Wolverine used The Greatest Show, with Hugh Jackman's Wolverine on screen; the track had earlier been WWE's theme for Backlash 2020.

The real P. T. Barnum was born in Bethel, in which US state?

Barnum was born in Bethel, Connecticut, in 1810 and later served as mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he built four mansions.

By what nickname was the real Jenny Lind widely known?

Jenny Lind was known as the Swedish Nightingale; she gave much of her American tour earnings to endow free schools in Sweden.

How much per night did Barnum offer Jenny Lind to tour America, having never heard her sing?

Barnum offered Jenny Lind $1,000 a night for 150 concerts plus expenses, and had to borrow against his properties to deposit the full fee in advance.

How many US concerts did Jenny Lind give under Barnum's management before ending the arrangement?

Jenny Lind gave 93 concerts under Barnum before invoking a contract clause to end the deal, then toured on her own for about another year.

In real life, why did Jenny Lind end her tour with Barnum early?

The film's spurned-lover storyline is invented; neither showed any romantic interest, and Lind found Barnum crude.

Barnum's 1842 Feejee Mermaid was the back half of a fish sewn to the upper body of what?

The Feejee Mermaid was a monkey's head and torso stitched to a fish's tail; Barnum's autobiography called it an ugly, dried-up, black-looking specimen.

Barnum's American Museum in Manhattan burned to the ground in which year?

Barnum's American Museum burned on July 13, 1865; two beluga whales died in their tank, and a replacement museum also burned in 1868.

What did it cost to get into Barnum's American Museum?

Admission to Barnum's American Museum was 25 cents, and some 38 million visitors paid it while the museum stood on Broadway.

How old was Charles Stratton when Barnum began exhibiting him as General Tom Thumb?

Barnum billed the four-year-old as eleven and taught him to impersonate figures such as Napoleon and Hercules.

Which president received General Tom Thumb and Lavinia Warren at the White House after their wedding?

Abraham Lincoln hosted the newlyweds at a White House reception in February 1863, days after their wedding at Grace Church.

How old was Barnum when he finally entered the circus business?

Barnum was 60 when his travelling circus opened in April 1871; he had built his fame on the museum and Jenny Lind's tour decades earlier.

Which elephant, bought from London Zoo in 1882, became the star attraction of Barnum's circus?

Jumbo, bought from London Zoo in 1882 for $10,000, toured with Barnum's circus until he was killed by a train in Ontario in 1885.

Which saying is often attributed to Barnum, although no evidence exists that he ever coined it?

No evidence shows Barnum ever said 'There's a sucker born every minute'; he called himself the Prince of Humbugs and exposed spiritualist mediums as frauds.

The Greatest Showman opened seven months after which real circus gave its final show before a six-year hiatus?

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey gave its final performance that May on Long Island and returned in 2023 without animal acts.

Which real New York newspaperman appears in the film as Barnum's harshest critic?

James Gordon Bennett Sr., founder of the Herald, is the critic; after the museum fire he admits to Barnum that the show was a celebration of humanity.

What are the names of Barnum's two daughters in the film?

Barnum's daughters are Caroline and Helen, played by Austyn Johnson and Cameron Seely; Caroline is the one who takes up ballet.

At which event did producers first compare Hugh Jackman to P. T. Barnum, sparking the project?

Producers Laurence Mark and Bill Condon first likened Hugh Jackman to Barnum during rehearsals for the 2009 Academy Awards, which Jackman hosted.

Under what title was the film first announced?

The project was announced as The Greatest Showman on Earth, with Jackman attached to play Barnum from the outset.

Which monarch does Phillip Carlyle arrange for Barnum's troupe to meet?

Phillip Carlyle secures an audience with Queen Victoria at Buckingham Palace, where Barnum first meets the opera star Jenny Lind.

What Grammy did The Greatest Showman win at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards?

The Greatest Showman won Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media at the 61st Grammy Awards, while Shallow from A Star Is Born took the song category.

How does Barnum travel to his daughters' ballet recital in the film's closing scene?

Barnum hands the show over to Phillip Carlyle and rides an elephant out of the circus tent to reach his daughters' recital.

Which two composers wrote the film's orchestral score, as opposed to its songs?

John Debney and Joseph Trapanese composed the orchestral score; Debney had earlier scored The Passion of the Christ.

On which streaming service did the film arrive in August 2020 after the Fox takeover?

The Greatest Showman arrived on Disney+ in the US in August 2020, the streaming home for the Fox library Disney had bought the year before.