Mamma Mia! goes sing-along for re-release

With sales slowing and several high-grossing, summer blockbusters to contend with (most notably, The Dark Knight), Universal Pictures has resorted to an interactive gimmick in order to boost its Labor Day weekend revenue for Mamma Mia! A "Sing-Along Edition" of the movie premieres in select theaters nationwide on Friday, Aug. 29. This “unprecedented worldwide phenomenon” will feature, well, pretty much just subtitles—but also an exclamation-point-littered invitation from Universal to “sing and dance along.”

The audience participation angle was tested last year by New Line, a few weeks into the run of Hairspray. The two films were released on the same weekend a year apart, and were both the highest grossing musicals of their time. Mamma Mia! boasts a domestic gross of $118 million to date, Hairspray’s return for the entire run, give or take a million. Internationally, the ABBA sensation’s sales have already overtaken Hairspray’s worldwide gross by 62%.

Universal is hoping that the Mamma Mia! sing-along will be more successful than its predecessor, as the audience involvement aspect is something of a homecoming for the London-born musical. Details on theater location and show times can be found on MammaMiaMovie.com.

Related links:
YouTube: the Original "Mamma Mia"
Mamma Mia! movie trailer
Mamma-Mia.com

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