How did Walt Disney Co. (DIS) take 'High School Musical' a basic-cable TV movie and turn it into a pop-culture phenomenon? It wasn't an accident, according to this Newsweek.com article.
Six months after its premiere, "High School Musical" rolls on, a singing and dancing juggernaut. Almost 37 million viewers have watched the $4.2 million production at least once since its first airing, and the musical—a pop confection that makes "Grease" look like "Rebel Without a Cause"—surged back into the spotlight this month, grabbing six Emmy nominations. The soundtrack, a top-10 hit since its January release, is the year's biggest-selling CD, at 2.7 million copies. After five weeks, the DVD has sold an eye-popping 2.1 million copies.
A Broadway play is probable. Meanwhile, there are now two DVDs to watch over and over, two CDs to listen to repeatedly, ringtones to download, novels to read and stationery that's ideal for breathless fan mail to "HSM" cast members. Can you spell F-R-A-N-C-H-I-S-E? Analyst William Drewry of Credit Suisse estimates the fledging business already totals $100 million in CD and DVD sales. "It's unclear how big it can get," he says. "It deserves franchise status."
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