Poster © Universal Pictures. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreComedy, Musical & Romance
RatedPG-13
Runtime1 hr 48 mins
ReleasedJuly 18, 2008
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorPhyllida Lloyd
StarringMeryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth
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Mamma Mia! (2008)
| ▶Stream It | ★The Numbers |
| 🎫Get Tickets | ✎Edit History |
| iIMDb Profile | %Rotten Tomatoes |
| WWikipedia | LLetterboxd |
| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
| Mamma Mia!'s Details | |
| Genre | Comedy, Musical & Romance |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Released | 06/30/2008 (Leicester Square); 07/10/2008 (United Kingdom); 07/18/2008 (United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 1 hr 48 mins |
| Budget | $52M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | Mamma Mia! by Catherine Johnson |
| Country | United States, United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Mamma Mia!'s Interests | |
| General | Overalls, goat houses, sailboats, an old diary, sparkly 1970s stage outfits, Greek sunsets. |
| Music | Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. Two members of ABBA, scoring their own hits. |
| Movies | Muriel's Wedding (1994). The other great ABBA wedding movie. |
| Television | Glee. Musical numbers out of nowhere, all season long. |
| Heroes | Rosie. Best friend, best backup singer, zero hesitation. |
| Mamma Mia!'s Crew | |
| Director | Phyllida Lloyd |
| Writers | Catherine Johnson |
| Producers | Judy Craymer, Gary Goetzman |
| Cinematography | Haris Zambarloukos |
| Music | Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus |
| Edited By | Lesley Walker |
| Production | Universal Pictures, Relativity Media, Playtone, Littlestar Productions |
| Distributed By | Universal Pictures |
Pierce Brosnan sings in this movie, and everybody on that Greek island agrees to act like it’s fine. That’s the spirit of the ABBA musical: pure joy, zero shame, very little polish. Meryl Streep goes all in as Donna, leaping around like a teenager one minute and belting The Winner Takes It All on a cliffside the next, and that song is honestly the best scene. Amanda Seyfried is sweet as Sophie and has one of the strongest voices in the cast. Julie Walters and Christine Baranski are a blast as the old bandmates. The problems are real, though. The camera never sits still, and half the numbers are staged like a rowdy wedding reception filmed by a guest. Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgård are game but get very little to do. It made $708.2 million worldwide on a reported $52M. A 5.4 because the energy is contagious and the filmmaking is a mess. $475.13 says you hum Dancing Queen in the grocery store tomorrow and do a tiny spin in the cereal aisle.
What works: Meryl Streep’s all-in performance, The Winner Takes It All, and a supporting cast clearly loving every minute.
What doesn’t: The camera work is frantic, a few of the big-name leads are not singers, and the plot is a thin excuse to cue the next song.
Who it’s for: ABBA fans, wedding-reception dancers at heart, and anyone who wants a sunny sing-along with zero homework.
Spoilers
Sophie never learns which of the three men is her father, and all three happily agree to share the job. Sophie and Sky decide to skip the wedding and travel instead, and Sam proposes to Donna, who says yes and marries him on the spot.
On the sunny Greek island of Kalokairi, twenty-year-old Sophie Sheridan (Amanda Seyfried) is about to marry Sky (Dominic Cooper), and she wants her father to walk her down the aisle. One problem: she's never met him, and her mom's old diary names three possible candidates. So Sophie secretly invites all three: Sam (Pierce Brosnan), Harry (Colin Firth) and Bill (Stellan Skarsgård). Her mom, Donna (Meryl Streep), who runs a crumbling hotel on the island, has no clue they're coming. Donna's old bandmates Tanya (Christine Baranski) and Rosie (Julie Walters) are in town for the wedding too. Phyllida Lloyd directs. One hundred nine minutes, all ABBA.
Anyone who might be Sophie's dad. RSVP required.
| Meryl Streep | Donna Sheridan |
| Pierce Brosnan | Sam Carmichael |
| Colin Firth | Harry Bright |
| Stellan Skarsgård | Bill Anderson |
| Julie Walters | Rosie Mulligan |
| Dominic Cooper | Sky Rymand |
| Amanda Seyfried | Sophie Sheridan |
| Christine Baranski | Tanya Chesham-Leigh |
| Rachel McDowall | Lisa |
| Ashley Lilley | Ali |
| Ricardo Montez | Stavros |
| Enzo Squillino Jr. | Gregoris |
| Philip Michael | Pepper |
| Chris Jarvis | Eddie |
| Juan Pablo Di Pace | Petros |
| Niall Buggy | Father Alex |
| Benny Andersson | "Dancing Queen" piano player |
| Spencer Kayden | Agnes |
| Björn Ulvaeus | Greek god |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $708.2M; Domestic box office $144.3M; Opening weekend $27.8M; Profit / loss (est.) +$276.1M; Rotten Tomatoes 54%; CinemaScore A−; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 54% (186 reviews); Metacritic 51 / 100; CinemaScore A−; IMDb users 6.5 / 10 (313,154 votes); movie.guru score 5.0.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.