Due to the large box office numbers racked up by Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen’s music has made a return to the charts. Bryan Singer’s biopic that focused on the band’s unique frontman Freddie Mercury has secured box office success, but is now causing the legendary rock band’s music to find a new audience in 2018.
Since its release on November 2nd, Bohemian Rhapsody has been met with a wide variety of responses, beginning with initial enthusiasm from lifelong fans of the band. Yet, a multitude of factual inaccuracies cluttered the film, and forever tainted it in the eyes of many Queen diehards. Lots of fans have also been disappointed by the way the movie often seems to associate Mercury’s sexuality with drugs and overall negativity. Worse yet, the movie sometimes glossed over certain pertinent details: for example, Mercury is referred to as gay throughout most of Bohemian Rhapsody, yet many historical accounts label the singer as bisexual.
Despite – or perhaps due to – this controversy, box office numbers have been staggering, and as the website Ultimate Classic Rock reports, those numbers are sending Queen’s music through the roof. The film boasts the second-highest opening weekend within its genre (music biopic), behind only 2015’s Straight Outta Compton, and that looks to have translated into thousands of new (or newly rejuvenated) Queen devotees.
The soundtrack album for Bohemian Rhapsody is filled with the same Queen hits that appear throughout the movie. Since the film’s release, that soundtrack shot to number 3 on the charts, a lofty recognition the band’s music hasn’t seen in 38 years. Bohemian Rhapsody – the song – has returned to the Billboard Hot 100 for the third time, having earned a spot initially upon the song’s release, and once again after its immortal reference in the SNL sketch-turned-movie, Wayne’s World.
Though it may be riddled with inaccuracies and unacceptable blunders in the representation of a bisexual character, Bohemian Rhapsody seems to have succeeded overall with moviegoers, and the film has now provided Queen’s music a rare second life. The movie’s PG-13 rating, though perhaps the cause of many of the diversions made from the truth, has allowed for a younger audience to be exposed to Mercury and Queen’s consummate musical prowess. Hopefully, these viewers can continue to look beyond the film’s issues, and appreciate the music of a legendary musical group and that group’s incomparable lead singer.
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Source: Ultimate Classic Rock
