Phantom Sequel Love Never Dies Hits Cinemas This Week

“Love Never Dies,” also composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, was recently performed in Melbourne, Australia, and a film of that production is now set to be released.

The history of “Love Never Dies” already is quite complex. An original London production was mostly panned by critics, and Webber, saying the London production “didn’t work,” reworked the play for the Australian performance. The theatrical release – a filmed version of the Australian performance – is part of a promotional push to interest investors in a future Broadway transfer. The film is set to show in about 600 theaters.

Speaking to the Los Angeles Times, Webber said that he is not concerned the theatrical release will have the opposite of its intended effect and erode interest in a Broadway production of “Love Never Dies.”

“It’s the other way around,” he told the paper. “I have the luck of having ‘War Horse’ run at one of my theaters in London. And we’ve seen attendance rise since the movie came out.” War Horse plays at West End’s New London Theatre.

In other “Phantom” news, Webber also told the Los Angeles Times that a new DVD release of the musical will mark its 25th anniversary, and that a company in Plymouth, England is working on a new revival.

“One has to remember with musicals, there clearly comes a time when you do need to rethink them,” he said. “But nothing would ever completely equal the original ‘Phantom.’”

The Broadway production of “Phantom” opened in January 1988, and is now the longest running show in the history of Broadway. The show is still extremely successful, and last year marked its best year yet as it grossed $44.8 million.