At the last minute, ballet mistress Madame Giry suggests that dancer Christine Daaé take Carlotta's place as she has been 'well taught.' The managers reluctantly agree and, to their surprise, Christine wins them over. Carlotta refuses to sing and storms offstage, leaving Firmin and André no choice but to cancel the performance. When resident soprano Carlotta Giudicelli begins to sing for the managers, a backdrop collapses and causes everyone to blame the 'Opera Ghost', a mysterious figure who is rumored to live in the catacombs beneath the theater. As it flickers to life and slowly ascends to its original place in the rafters, the audience is transported back in time to the year 1870.īack to this time, while the company rehearses for a performance of the grand opera Hannibal, manager Monsieur Lefèvre announces that he has decided to retire and that the opera has been purchased by Richard Firmin and Gilles André, two men who have no experience with the arts whatsoever. The auctioneer then presents a shattered chandelier as the next item up for bid, explaining that it once played a key role in 'the strange affair of the Phantom of the Opera'. Raoul, Viscount de Chagny purchases a papier-mâché music box in the shape of a monkey and eyes it sadly as Madame Giry's daughter, Meg Giry, an aged woman dressed in black, watches him. In 1919, the Opéra Populaire holds a public auction to clear the theatre's vaults.

The Phantom of the Opera grossed approximately $154 million worldwide, despite receiving mixed to negative reviews, which praised the visuals and acting but criticized the writing and directing. Rossum, Wilson, and Driver had singing experience, but Butler had none and so had music lessons. It was shot entirely at Pinewood Studios, with scenery created with miniatures and computer graphics. The film was announced in 1989 but production did not start until 2002 due to Lloyd Webber's divorce and Schumacher's busy career. It stars Gerard Butler in the title role, Emmy Rossum as Christine Daaé, Patrick Wilson as Raoul, Miranda Richardson as Madame Giry, Minnie Driver as Carlotta Giudicelli, and Jennifer Ellison as Meg Giry It was produced and co-written by Lloyd Webber and directed by Joel Schumacher. The Phantom of the Opera is a 2004 British-American musical drama film based on Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical of the same name, which in turn is based on the French novel Le Fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux.

Phantom of the opera movie 2004 cast