Chicago, the first feature picture from filmmaker Rob Marshall, debuted in theatres on December 27th, 2002. The 1975 musical of the same name, which was also adapted from a 1926 play, served as the inspiration for the movie. Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Richard Gere, Queen Latifah, John C. Reilly, Christine Baranski, Taye Diggs, and Lucy Liu were among the actors who appeared in Marshall’s film. The film shattered box office records and won best picture for the first time in more than 30 years. Nevertheless, despite Chicago’s undeniable success, the movie’s director said that he never imagined his first major motion picture would have the kind of impact it did in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter on the occasion of Chicago’s 20th anniversary.
As they seek assistance from the slick attorney Billy Flynn, fame-hungry murderesses Roxie Hart (played by Zellweger) and Velma Kelly (played by Zeta-Jones) get enmassely competitive in the movie Chicago (Gere). Although Chicago is the director of Mary Poppins Returns’ favourite musical, he revealed to THR that he never expected his adaptation to be as well-liked as it was. He stated: “I was blissfully ignorant in many aspects, particularly on how it would turn out. Live-action musicals were just unpopular at the time. The previous year’s performance of Moulin Rouge! helped to open the door. But I was well aware that musicals were not often well received. I anticipated that only a limited, specialised audience would see it.”
But, of course, Marshall’s film had a much more significant impact than he’d thought it would. Chicago ended up making $306 million worldwide (the equivalent of $507 million today) and became the highest-grossing live-action musical at that point in time. The movie also won six Oscars, including best picture and best supporting actress (Zeta-Jones). Zellweger, Gere, and the film itself also received Golden Globe wins.
