Mamma Mia! (film series)

The Mamma Mia! films are American musical movies, based on the 1999 Broadway musical of the same name, which was based on the songs of pop/soft rock band ABBA; while additional music composed by Benny Andersson. An international co-production between Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the first two films were directed by Phyllida Lloyd and Ol Parker, respectively. A joint-production lead by and distributed by Universal Pictures, the films star: Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgård; while Lily James and Cher joined the cast for the sequel. The series has received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. With two films released to-date, the series has grossed over $1 billion.

Mamma Mia!
Official film series logo
Based on	Mamma Mia! by Catherine Johnson
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Country	Germany United Kingdom United States[1]
Language	English
Budget	$127 million (Cumulative of 2 films)
Box office	$1 billion (Cumulative of 2 films)

Development

Films

Film	U.S. release date	Director	Screenwriter	Story by	Producers
Mamma Mia!: The Movie	July 18, 2008	Phyllida Lloyd	Catherine Johnson		Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman
Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again	July 20, 2018	Ol Parker		Judy Craymer and Catherine Johnson & Richard Curtis and Ol Parker

Mamma Mia!: The Movie (2008)

Meryl Streep took opera singing lessons as a child, and as an adult, she previously sang in several films, including Postcards from the Edge, Silkwood, Death Becomes Her, and A Prairie Home Companion.[2] She was a fan of the stage show Mamma Mia! after seeing it on Broadway in September 2001, when she found the show to be an affirmation of life in the midst of mourning the destruction of the September 11 attacks.[3]

Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again (2018)

In July 2017 following the success of the first film co-chairman of Universal Pictures, David Linde confirmed development of a sequel. The film was directed by Ol Parker, from a script of his own.[4] Principal photography on the film began on August 12, 2017 in Croatia, including the island of Vis.[5][6][7][8] The cast gathered in October 2017, at Shepperton Studios in Surrey, England, to film some song and dance numbers with Cher; while filming wrapped on December 2, 2017.[9] Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again was scheduled for, and eventually released on July 20, 2018.[10]

Future

In June 2020, Judy Cramer announced that a third film is in development, with the producer confirming that the new ABBA songs written for the band's reunion will feature in the soundtrack. She stated that the COVID-19 pandemic has caused delays with development of the project.[11]

Main cast and characters

List indicator(s)

This section shows characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.

• An empty, dark grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
•  ^C indicates a cameo role.
•  ^O indicates an older version of the character.
•  ^Y indicates a younger version of the character.

Character	Films
	Mamma Mia!: The Movie	Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again
Sophie Sheridan-Rymand	Amanda Seyfried
Donna Sheridan-Carmichael	Meryl Streep	Lily James^Y Meryl Streep^O
Sam Carmichael	Pierce Brosnan	Jeremy Irvine^Y Pierce Brosnan^O
Harry Bright	Colin Firth	Hugh Skinner^Y Colin Firth^O
Bill Anderson	Stellan Skarsgård	Josh Dylan^Y Stellan Skarsgård^O
Tanya Chesham-Leigh	Christine Baranski	Jessica Keenan Wynn^Y Christine Baranski^O
Rosie Mulligan	Julie Walters	Alexa Davies^Y Julie Walters^O
Sky Rymand	Dominic Cooper
Ruby Sheridan		Cher
Fernando Cienfuegos		Andy García
Greek god University of Oxford professor	Björn Ulvaeus^C
"Dancing Queen" pianist "Waterloo" pianist	Benny Andersson^C

Additional crew & production details

Film	Crew/Detail
	Composer(s)	Songs written by	Cinematographer	Editor	Production companies	Distributing company	Running time
Mamma Mia!: The Movie	Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus		Haris Zambarloukos	Lesley Walker	Universal Pictures, Relativity Media, Littlestar, Playtone, Internationale Filmproduktion Richter	Universal Pictures, Universal Pictures International	1hr 48mins
Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again	Anne Dudley	Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus	Robert Yeoman	Peter Lambert	Universal Pictures, Legendary Entertainment, Perfect World Pictures, Littlestar, Playtone, Dentsu Inc., Fuji Television Network, Croatian Audiovisual Centre		1hr 54mins

Release

ABBA and the film ensemble at the Swedish premiere of Mamma Mia!, July 4, 2008.

Mamma Mia!: The Movie

Though the world premiere of the film occurred elsewhere, most of the media attention was focused on the Swedish premiere, where Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog joined Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson with the cast at the Rival Theatre in Mariatorget, Stockholm, owned by Andersson, on July 4, 2008. It was the first time all four members of ABBA had been photographed together since 1986.[12]

Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again

Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again was released on July 20, 2018 by Universal Pictures in the UK, USA and other selected countries.[13]

Reception

Box office & financial performance

Film	Budget	Box office gross
		North America	Other territories	Worldwide
Mamma Mia!: The Movie	$52 million	$144,100,000	$465,600,000	$615,700,000
Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again	$75 million	$120,600,000	$274,100,000	$395,800,000
Total	$127 million	$264,700,000	$743,000,000	$1,010,800,000

Critical and public response

Film	Rotten Tomatoes	Metacritic	CinemaScore
Mamma Mia!: The Movie	54% (182 reviews)[14]	51/100 (37 reviews)[15]	A-[16]
Mamma Mia!: Here We Go Again	80% (264 reviews)[17]	60/100 (46 reviews)[18]	A-[16]

References

1. "Mamma Mia! (2008) | BFI". British Film Institute. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
2. Hiscock, John (2008-07-04). "Meryl Streep the singing and dancing queen". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
3. Meryl Streep, speaking on 'Abba:The Mamma Mia Story', ITV
4. Anita Busch (May 19, 2017). "'Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!' On Universal Pictures' 2018 Schedule". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
5. McCreesh, Louise (August 12, 2017). "Lily James shares snap of young Dynamos in Mamma Mia 2". Digital Spy. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
6. Harrison, Ellie (August 14, 2017). "Lily James shares photo from the set of Mamma Mia! sequel". RadioTimes. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
7. Sommers, Kat (August 14, 2017). "First Look: The Dynamos Reunite as 'Mamma Mia 2' Starts Filming | BBC America". BBC America. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
8. Demark, Nikolina (August 15, 2017). "Will the Filming of 'Mamma Mia' Affect the Island of Vis?". Total Croatia News. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
9. McCreesh, Louise (December 4, 2017). "Mamma Mia 2: Here We Go Again! has officially finished filming". Digital Spy. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
10. Bryan Alexander (2017-05-19). "'Mamma Mia' sequel 'Here We Go Again' coming next summer". US Today. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
11. Shafer, Ellise (June 20, 2020). "'Mamma Mia' Producer Teases Third Film, Says It's 'Meant to Be a Trilogy'". Variety. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
12. Sandra Wejbro (2008-07-04). "ABBA återförenades på röda mattan (Swedish)". Aftonbladet. Retrieved 2008-07-06.
13. "'Mamma Mia!' Film Sequel Gets July 2018 Release Date". US News. May 19, 2017. Retrieved August 16, 2017.
14. "Mamma Mia! (2008)". Rotten Tomatoes.
15. "Mamma Mia!". Metacritic.
16. "Cinemascore". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on 2018-12-20.
17. "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes.
18. "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again". Metacritic.