Principal photography primarily took place on the island ofSkopelos, Greece, from August to September 2007. The film was distributed byUniversal Pictures.Mamma Mia! held its worldpremiere on June 30, 2008, atLeicester Square in London and premiered on July 4, 2008, in Stockholm, Sweden, with ABBA membersBenny Andersson,Björn Ulvaeus,Anni-Frid Lyngstad andAgnetha Fältskog in attendance. It was later theatrically released July 10 in the United Kingdom, July 17 in Germany, and July 18 in the United States. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the musical numbers and production values, but criticized the casting of inexperienced singers and campy tone.[3] However, it was a box-office success, grossing $611.4 million worldwide on a $52 million budget, becoming thefifth highest-grossing film of 2008. A sequel, titledMamma Mia! Here We Go Again, was released on July 20, 2018, with much of the cast returning.
On the fictional Greek island of Kalokairi (Greek for 'Summer'), bride-to-be Sophie Sheridan reveals to her bridesmaids that she has secretly invited three men to her wedding without telling her mother, Donna: Irish-American architect Sam Carmichael, Swedish travel writer Bill Anderson, and British banker Harry Bright. One of the three is Sophie's biological father, though she doesn't know which, and she wants him to give her away at the wedding; she believes that after spending time with each of them, she will learn who fathered her.
When the three men arrive at Kalokairi, Sophie explains she sent the wedding invitations, not Donna, but does not reveal that she believes one of them is her father. She hides the men in Donna's goat house, and they hesitantly agree not to reveal themselves yet, as it is a surprise.
As Donna is working on the goat house, she spies on them. Dumbfounded to find herself facing her former lovers, she demands they leave. Donna confides in her old friends Tanya and Rosie, who have also arrived for the wedding, that she truly does not know which of the three fathered Sophie.
Sophie finds the men aboard Bill's sailboat and they sail around Kalokairi, with the men bonding with Sophie and telling her stories of Donna's carefree youth. Sophie attempts to tell her fiancé Sky about her ploy but loses her nerve.
At Sophie's bachelorette party, Donna is distressed by the three men's presence, but Rosie and Tanya assure her that they will take care of them. Sophie talks with each man alone, leaving Sam and Harry questioning their trip. She learns from Bill that Donna received the money for her villa from his great-aunt Sofia: as a result, Sophie comes to believe that Bill is her father and asks him to give her away but keep their secret until the wedding. Sophie's happiness is short-lived, as Sam and Harry each pull her aside to tell her that they are her father and they will give her away.
In the morning, Donna attempts to comfort Sophie and offers to cancel the wedding; Sophie reacts angrily, saying she wants to avoid her mother's mistakes. Sam attempts to discuss the wedding with Donna, and both realize they still have feelings for each other. Sophie admits her actions to Sky and asks for his help, but he reacts angrily to her deception.
As they prepare for the wedding Donna admits to Sophie that her mother disowned her after she got pregnant, but she could not be more proud of having her. Donna promises to give Sophie away.
As the bridal party and guests enter the chapel Sam intercepts Donna, who reveals the pain she felt over losing him. At the wedding, Sam reveals that he had ended his engagement, but returned to find Donna had gone off with another man (Bill).
The three men agree with Sophie that they do not want the paternity confirmed, each agreeing to be one-third of a father for Sophie. Sophie suggests to Sky that they postpone their wedding and travel the world. Sam proposes to Donna, revealing that he is divorced and has always loved her. She happily accepts and they marry on the spot.
The Agios Ioannis chapel during filming of the wedding scene forMamma Mia!.
Most of the outdoor scenes were filmed on location at the small Greek islands ofSkopelos andSkiathos, inThessaly (between August 29 and September 2007),[4][5] and the seasidehamlet ofDamouchari in thePelion area of Greece. On Skopelos, Kastani beach on the southwest coast was the film's main location site.[4] The producers built a beach bar andjetty along the beach but removed both set pieces after production wrapped.[4] The wedding procession was filmed at the Agios Ioannis Chapel nearGlossa.[6]
A complete set for Donna's Greek villa was built at the007 stage at Pinewood Studios and most of the film was shot there. Real trees were used for the set, watered daily through an automated watering system and given access to daylight to keep them growing. The part of the film where Brosnan's character, Sam, leaves his New York office to go to the Greek Island was actually filmed at theLloyd's building onLime Street in theCity of London. He dashes down the escalators and through theporte-cochere, where yellow cabs and actors representing New York mounted police were used for verisimilitude.[7]
Though the world premiere of the film occurred elsewhere, most of the media attention was focused on the Swedish premiere, whereAnni-Frid Lyngstad andAgnetha Fältskog joinedBjörn Ulvaeus andBenny Andersson with the cast at the Rival Theatre inMariatorget,Stockholm, owned by Andersson, on July 4, 2008. It was the first time all four members of ABBA had been photographed together since 1986.[14]
In November 2008,Mamma Mia! became the fastest-selling DVD of all time in the UK according to Official UK Charts Company figures. It sold 1,669,084 copies on its first day of release, breaking the previous record (held byTitanic) by 560,000 copies. By the end of 2008, the Official UK Charts Company declared that it had become the biggest-selling DVD ever in the UK, with one in every four households owning a copy (over 5 million copies sold).[15] The record was previously held byPirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl with sales of 4.7 million copies.
In the United States, the DVD made over $30 million on its first day of release.Mamma Mia! was released on DVD and Blu-ray on December 16, 2008.[16] By December 31, 2008,Mamma Mia! became the bestselling DVD of all time in Sweden with 545,000 copies sold.[17]
Mamma Mia! grossed $144.3 million in the United States and Canada, and $467.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $611.4 million, against a production budget of $52 million.[2][18] It became the highest grossing live-action musical of all time until it was surpassed byBill Condon'sBeauty and the Beast in 2017. It was also the highest-grossing movie directed by a woman until it was surpassed byPatty Jenkins'Wonder Woman in 2017.[19] It is the third highest-grossing film of 2008 internationally (i.e. outside North America) with an international total of $458.4 million and the thirteenth highest gross of 2008 in North America (the US and Canada) with $144.1 million.
The film made $9.6 million on its opening day in the United States and Canada, as well as $27.6 million on its opening weekend, ranking #2 at the box office, behindThe Dark Knight.[20] At the time, it madeMamma Mia! the record-holder for the highest grossing opening weekend for a movie based on a Broadway musical, surpassingHairspray's box office record in 2007 and later surpassed byInto the Woods.[21]
In the United Kingdom,Mamma Mia! grossed £69.2 million as of January 23, 2009; it is thethirteenth highest-grossing film of all time at the UK box office.[22] The film opened at number one in the UK, taking £6.6 million on 496 screens. It managed to hold on to the top spot for two weeks, narrowly keepingPixar'sWALL-E from reaching number one in its second week.[citation needed]
When released on July 3, 2009, in Greece, the film grossed $1.6 million in its opening weekend, reaching number one at the Greek box office.[23]
Mamma Mia! received mixed reviews upon release.[24][25][26] On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 55% based on 183 reviews, with an average rating of 5.60/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "This jukebox musical is full of fluffy fun but rough singing voices and acampy tone might not make you feel like 'You Can Dance' the whole 90 minutes."[3] OnMetacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[27] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[28]
BBC Radio 5 Live's film criticMark Kermode admitted to enjoying the film, despite describing the experience as "the closest you get to see A-List actors doing drunken karaoke".[29] Peter Bradshaw ofThe Guardian was more negative, giving it one star, and expressed a "need to vomit".[30] Bob Chipman ofEscape to the Movies said it was "so base, so shallow and so hinged on meaningless spectacle, it's amazing it wasn't made for men".[31]The Daily Telegraph stated that it was enjoyable but poorly put together: "Finding the film a total shambles was sort of a shame, but I have a sneaking suspicion I'll go to see it again anyway."[32] Angie Errigo ofEmpire said it was "cute, clean, camp fun, full of sunshine and toe tappers."[33]
The casting of actors not known for their singing abilities led to some mixed reviews.[34]Variety stated that "some stars, especially the bouncy and rejuvenated Streep, seem better suited for musical comedy than others, including Brosnan and Skarsgård."[35] Brosnan, especially, was savaged by many critics: his singing was compared to "awater buffalo" (New York Magazine),[36] "a donkey braying" (The Philadelphia Inquirer)[37] and "a wounded raccoon" (The Miami Herald),[38] and Matt Brunson ofCreative Loafing Charlotte said he "looks physically pained choking out the lyrics, as if he's being subjected to aprostate exam just outside of the camera's eye."[39]
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again was announced on May 19, 2017, with a planned release date of July 20, 2018.[55] It was written and directed byOl Parker.[56] It was announced that Seyfried,[57] Cooper, Streep, Firth and Brosnan would be returning.[58] In July 2017,Lily James was confirmed to portray young Donna.[59] The film took almost five months to film and was released in London and Sweden on July 16, 2018, and was released worldwide on July 20, 2018. The film was a commercial success and made $402 million worldwide with a $75 million budget. Reviews were generally positive, with critics praising the performances and musical numbers. The film was released digitally on October 9, 2018, and on DVD on October 23, 2018. It held the top spot on the charts for the week ending November 3, 2018.
Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell, a 1968 film about a woman who does not know which of three men is the father of her daughter, which some critics speculateMamma Mia! was based upon.
Lace, a 1984 miniseries about a daughter who tries to figure out which of three women is her mother.
^Ahad, Halima (October 8, 2023)."In Defence of: Mamma Mia!".Redbrick. RetrievedFebruary 18, 2025.Mamma Mia! has always received mixed reviews since its glamorous debut in 2008
^Errigo, Angie (July 3, 2008)."Mamma Mia! Review | Movie". gb: Empireonline.com.Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. RetrievedJanuary 27, 2017.
^Burns, Julie (September 21, 2021)."The Story Of ABBA: Mamma Mia!".Classic Pop. RetrievedFebruary 18, 2025.The fact that some of the cast had not been chosen for their vocalising led to some mixed reviews from critics. Most especially Pierce Brosnan
^Mintzer, Jordan (July 5, 2008)."Mamma Mia!".Variety. RetrievedDecember 19, 2016.
^Brunson, Matt (July 23, 2008)."Out of tune | Reviews".Charlotte.creativeloafing.com. Creative Loafing Charlotte. Archived fromthe original on June 16, 2011. RetrievedDecember 19, 2016.
