Could anyone have predicted The Greatest Showman becoming one of the most durable releases of 2017? It’s surprisingly unsinkable! Middling reviews didn’t affect it. Concerns over its sanitized take on the exploitative P.T. Barnum couldn’t sink it. The musical, led by Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Zendaya, and Michelle Williams, has just carried on, quickly becoming the Teflon Don of our times. It’s made a boatload of money worldwide, broken some very competitive records in the U.K., and, at long last, has picked up a slew of awards—commemorative surfboards at the hallowed Teen Choice Awards, but still. This latest haul proves that there is no corner of society that The Greatest Showman has not yet infiltrated. (It also proves that casting the double zed powers of Zendaya and Zefron in your movie is a very good idea if you want to get to the teens.)
The film’s Teen Choice sweep is just the latest example of the movie managing to remain surprisingly relevant even months after its December 2017 release. At the ceremony Sunday, it picked up ‘boards for choice drama movie, choice drama movie actor and actress (Efron and Zendaya), and choice movie ’ship (Zefrondaya, part two). Both actors have legions of teen fans—Efron had already secured 11 T.C.A. boards before this night—which would explain the film’s excellent performance at these (though let us not erase the youthful stans of Jackman and Williams). What, pray tell, do you think Efron does with all those surfboards? Does he store them all in some sort of Teen Choice Shed? These are questions that need answers.
The Greatest Showman has defied expectations at every turn. The film made an astonishing $434 million worldwide upon its release; it’s also broken music sales records in the U.K., closing in on a streak previously set by Adele’s heartbreak juggernaut, 21. The film made the rounds during this year’s official awards season as well, earning a Golden Globe nod for Jackman and a best-musical-comedy-picture nod. The song “This Is Me,” performed by Keala Settle and written by duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, picked up the Globe for best original song, and was later nominated for best original song at this year’s Academy Awards. Tune in next week when the movie, I dunno, sweeps the V.M.A.s, or makes a surprise appearance at the On the Run Tour. The Greatest Showman is everywhere, still, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
