''Burlesque'' is a 2010 American

backstage musical A backstage musical is a genre of musical with a plot set in a theatrical context that revolves around the production of a play or musical revue. The film's narrative trajectory often comes to a halt one or more times to allow a performance. The son ...

film written and directed by Steven Antin. It stars

Cher Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

Kristen Bell Kristen Anne Bell (born July 18, 1980) is an American actress. Beginning her acting career by starring in stage productions while attending the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, she made her Broadway stage debut as Becky That ...

Cam Gigandet Cameron Joslin Gigandet (; born August 16, 1982) is an American actor whose credits include a recurring role on '' The O.C.'' and appearances in feature films ''Twilight'', '' Pandorum'', ''Never Back Down'', '' Burlesque'', '' Easy A'', ''Pries ...

Stanley Tucci Stanley Tucci Jr. ( ; born November 11, 1960) is an American actor and filmmaker. Involved in acting from a young age, he made his film debut in John Huston's '' Prizzi's Honor'' (1985), and continued to play a variety of supporting roles in fil ...

Julianne Hough Julianne Alexandra Hough (; born July 20, 1988) is an American dancer, actress, and singer. In 2007, she joined the cast of ABC's ''Dancing with the Stars'' as a professional dancer, winning two seasons with her celebrity partners. After leavin ...

Alan Cumming Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965) is a British actor. His London stage appearances include ''Hamlet'', the Maniac in '' Accidental Death of an Anarchist'' (for which he received an Olivier Award), the lead in '' Bent'', The National Theatre ...

, and Peter Gallagher, and features cameos from

Dianna Agron Dianna Elise Agron ( ; born April 30, 1986) is an American actress and singer. After primarily dancing and starring in small musical theater productions in her youth, Agron made her screen debut in 2006, and in 2007, she played recurring charac ...

, and

James Brolin James Brolin (, born Craig Kenneth Bruderlin; July 18, 1940) is an American actor. Brolin has won two Golden Globes and an Emmy. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August 27, 1998. He is the father of actor Josh Brolin. He ...

. The film tells the story of Ali (Aguilera), an aspiring singer who leaves her small hometown for Los Angeles, where she becomes a dancer at a struggling

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

lounge owned by Tess (Cher). After a performance is sabotaged by her rival, Nikki (Bell), Ali sings the song herself, impressing Tess and leading to her becoming the main attraction of the lounge. ''Burlesque'' marks Aguilera's first leading role, as well as Cher's first musical performance on screen. ''Burlesque'' was released in the United States on November 24, 2010 by

Screen Gems Screen Gems is an American brand name used by Sony Pictures' Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group, a subsidiary of Japanese multinational conglomerate, Sony Group Corporation. It has served several different purposes for its parent ...

. Its

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

-inspired

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrac ...

was released ahead of the film's release on November 19, 2010 by

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also ...

and Screen Gems. Aguilera and Cher both contributed to the album. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the cast's performance and the soundtrack but criticized the cliche writing. Despite its mixed reception, the film did modestly at the box office, grossing $91 million worldwide and earning an additional $42 million in domestic video sales. The film earned a nomination for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the

66th Golden Globe Awards The 66th Golden Globe Awards, honoring the best in film and television of 2008, was broadcast on January 11, 2009, from the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, United States on the NBC TV network. The broadcast was watched by approx ...

, where Cher's performance of " You Haven't Seen the Last of Me", written by

Diane Warren Diane Eve Warren (born September 7, 1956) is an American songwriter. She has received several awards including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three ''Billboard'' Music Awards and an Honorary Academy Award. Wa ...

won the for Best Original Song. The soundtrack received a nomination at the

54th Grammy Awards The 54th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 12, 2012, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles being broadcast on CBS honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011. LL Cool J hosted the ...

for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media.

Plot

Alice "Ali" Marilyn Rose (

) is a young waitress from

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

who dreams of becoming a professional dancer following her mother's death during childhood. After her selfish boss refuses salary, Ali steals from him and moves to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. There Ali attends multiple auditions with little success. One night, Ali comes across a

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

club where Tess Scali (

), the club's owner, and an entourage of dancers perform an opening number. Ali also meets songwriter Jack Miller (

) at the club's bar. Jack refers her to Tess for an audition but she is told to come back another time and ushered out by her assistant Sean (

). Upon seeing the waitress shortage, Ali picks up a tray and begins serving. As a result, she manages to get a job as a waitress at the club. When Georgia (

), one of the leading dancers, becomes pregnant, auditions are held in search of a replacement to fill her role. Ali performs a difficult dance routine and eventually persuades Tess to hire her. This, however, infuriates Nikki (

), a lead performer struggling with alcoholism. Ali replaces Nikki one night to host a performance after the latter is too intoxicated to perform. In a fit of rage, Nikki sabotages the performance by turning off the music that the dancers usually lip sync to until Ali impresses everyone with her singing skills. Her performance is an instant success to which Tess casts her in an upcoming show. Despite the club's growing popularity, Tess struggles with a bank loan indicted to her owning the rights of the building. One night after the club closes, Tess grows increasingly worried about her financiallity before a drunken Nikki shows up, accusing Tess of rejecting their long friendship. In defense of Ali, Tess questions Nikki's gratitude for the help she has received during her binges. In retaliation, a furious Nikki quits after she reveals to have slept with Tess' ex-husband Vince ( Peter Gallagher). Tess then angrily smashes the passenger side window on Nikki's convertible with a crowbar after she leaves. Meanwhile, Ali and Jack become romantically attracted. However, Jack is already engaged to Natalie (

), an actress working in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Sean encourages Jack to end the engagement, as Ali is a better person than his shallow fiancée. Marcus ( Eric Dane), a wealthy clubgoer, becomes infatuated with Ali, who begins spending time with him, making Jack jealous. At Georgia's wedding, Jack appears to call off his engagement and becomes drunk. That night, Ali and Jack sleep together, beginning an affair. In the morning, Natalie unexpectedly returns from New York and finds the two in bed together. Natalie angrily insists she and Jack never broke up though the latter denies this but asks Ali to leave. Feeling heartbroken and betrayed, Ali runs to Sean for support, also learning that Sean is gay. Marcus calls Ali, and Sean prompts her to go out with him. Ali learns that Marcus is interested in the "

air rights Air rights are the property interest in the "space" above the earth's surface. Generally speaking, owning, or renting, land or a building includes the right to use and build in the space above the land without interference by others. This lega ...

" above the club; he hopes to build a skyscraper on the property. Distraught, Ali breaks off her relationship with Marcus. She later tells Tess about his plan, and they inform the owner (

) of new million-dollar condos being sold across the street. Fearing the obstruction of his prospective purchasers' view, he buys the air rights to the club's property from Tess. She then uses the money to buy out Vince's share, pay off the bank, and redecorate the club in her own vision. Later, a sobered Nikki admits that she lied about sleeping with Vince out of anger, and Tess rehires her. Ali rekindles her relationship with Jack after he tells her about breaking up with Natalie, as she cared more about her job than her relationship with him. Having earned Nikki's respect, Ali performs "Show Me How You Burlesque", a song written by Jack, with all of the dancers on stage, delighting the crowd.

Cast

as Alice Marilyn "Ali" Rose *

as Tess Scali *

as John "Jack" Miller *

as Nikki *

as Sean * Eric Dane as Marcus Gerber *

as Alexis *

as Georgia * Peter Gallagher as Vincent "Vince" Scali *

as Natalie *

Glynn Turman Glynn Russell Turman (born January 31, 1947) is an American actor, writer, director, and producer. Turman is known for his roles as Lew Miles on the prime-time soap opera '' Peyton Place'' (1968–1969), high school student Leroy "Preach" Jackson ...

as Harold Saint * David Walton as Mark the DJ *

Terrence J Terrence Jenkins (born April 21, 1982) is an American actor, television presenter, model and entertainment reporter best known as the host of BET's popular music video countdown show ''106 & Park'' from 2006 until 2012.MacCash, Doug. "Back in ...

as Dave * Chelsea Traille as Coco *

Tyne Stecklein Season seventeen of ''Dancing with the Stars'' premiered on September 16, 2013, on the ABC network. On November 26, actress Amber Riley and Derek Hough were crowned the champions, while actor Corbin Bleu and Karina Smirnoff finished in second pl ...

as Jesse * Paula Van Oppen as Anna * Michael Landes as Greg *

Tanee McCall Tanee McCall (born April 17, 1981) is an American actress and dancer notable for her appearance as the lead in music videos as well as her role as Toya in ''You Got Served''. Filmography *''Brother's Blood'' (2016) *''Burlesque (2010 American f ...

as Scarlett *

Blair Redford David Blair Redford (born July 27, 1983) is an American actor. He is known for his television roles such as Scotty Grainger on ''The Young and the Restless'', Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald on '' Passions'', Ethan Whitehorse on '' The Lying Game'', Tyl ...

as James / Bumper Band Member *

as Mr. Anderson * Stephen Lee as Dwight

Production

Steven Antin's sister

Robin Robin may refer to: Animals * Australasian robins, red-breasted songbirds of the family Petroicidae * Many members of the subfamily Saxicolinae (Old World chats), including: **European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') ** Bush-robin **Forest r ...

was a member of the girl band

the Pussycat Dolls The Pussycat Dolls were an American girl group and dance ensemble, founded in Los Angeles, California, by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995 as a burlesque troupe. At the suggestion of Jimmy Iovine, Antin decided to take the burlesque troupe ...

. Circa 2002, the group performed at

the Roxy Theatre The Roxy Theatre (often just the Roxy) is a nightclub on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California, owned by Lou Adler and his son, Nic. History The Roxy was opened on September 23, 1973, by Elmer Valentine and Lou Adler, along wi ...

, West Hollywood, with multiple artists—among them Christina Aguilera—and Steven Antin directed some of these shows. The first outline of the screenplay was written by Antin and Clint Culpepper, the Screen Gems' president. It was about "a girl escaping her life", showing up in a neo-burlesque club and launching a career as a performer. Cher accepted the supporting role of Tess Scali because she wanted to sing in a movie and thought this would be her last opportunity to do so. While on the film set, she went on to praise co-star Christina Aguilera's acting abilities, revealing to ''

Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American first-run syndicated news broadcasting newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Paramount Streaming. ET also airs in Aus ...

'': "She was keeping up, and she was hot. I mean, it was, like, she was really up there. Her game is good." Canadian actor Shawn Roberts, who was previously cast in another Screen Gems production '' Resident Evil: Afterlife'', was briefly considered for the role of Jack Miller. ''Burlesque'' started shooting on November 9, 2009 and ended on March 3, 2010. Although director Steven Antin wrote the original screenplay,

Diablo Cody Brook Maurio (''née'' Busey; born June 14, 1978), known professionally by the pen name Diablo Cody, is an American writer and producer. She gained recognition for her candid blog and subsequent memoir, '' Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unl ...

('' Juno'') revised it uncredited. It was later further revised by Susannah Grant, also uncredited. ''Burlesque'' is Screen Gems' most expensive film, with the exception of the ''

Resident Evil ''Resident Evil'', known in Japan as is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...

'' films, with costs of $55 million. Filming locations included the exterior and adjacent parking as the "Burlesque Lounge" of the Ricardo Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood, as well as the interior of the Cathedral of Saint Vibiana. The film marked Aguilera's film debut and Cher's first musical.

Music

Musical numbers

# " Something's Got a Hold on Me" – Ali and the Burlesque Lounge Troupe (performed by Christina Aguilera) # "My Drag" – The Burlesque Lounge Troupe (a song by Deva Dragon & Squirrel Nut Zippers) # "Welcome to Burlesque Tango" – The Band # "Welcome to Burlesque" – Tess and the Burlesque Lounge Troupe (performed by Cher) # " Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend (Swing Cats Remix)" –written by Leo Robin and Nikki, Georgia and the Burlesque Lounge Troupe (a song by Leo Robin and Jules Styne for the musical Gentleman Prefer Blondes]) # "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" – Ali (outro by Christina Aguilera) # "Long John Blues" – Nikki (performed by

Megan Mullally Megan Mullally (born November 12, 1958) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She is best known for playing Karen Walker on the NBC sitcom '' Will & Grace'' (1998–2006, 2017–2020), for which she received eight Primetime Emmy Award ...

) # " Nasty Naughty Boy" – Ali (a song by Christina Aguilera/instrumental version) # "Wagon Wheel Watusi" – Ali (a song by

Elmer Bernstein Elmer Bernstein ( '; April 4, 1922August 18, 2004) was an American composer and conductor. In a career that spanned over five decades, he composed "some of the most recognizable and memorable themes in Hollywood history", including over 150 origi ...

) # " Ray of Light" – The Burlesque Lounge Troupe (a song by

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

) # "That's Life" – Alexis (performed by Alan Cumming; DVD/Blu-ray special feature) # "Tough Lover" – The Burlesque Lounge Troupe (a song by

Etta James Jamesetta Hawkins (January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012), known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer who performed in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul. Starting her career in 1954, sh ...

) # "Tough Lover" – Ali (performed by Christina Aguilera) # "But I Am a Good Girl" – Ali (performed by Christina Aguilera) # "A Guy What Takes His Time" – Ali (performed by Christina Aguilera) # "

Express Express or EXPRESS may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * '' Express: Aisle to Glory'', a 1998 comedy short film featuring Kal Penn * '' The Express: The Ernie Davis Story'', a 2008 film starring Dennis Quaid Music * ''Express'' ...

" – Ali and the Burlesque Lounge Troupe (performed by Christina Aguilera) # "Jungle Berlin (Instrumental)" – Alexis and The Contortionists # " You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" – Tess (performed by Cher) # "Bound to You" – Ali (performed by Christina Aguilera) # "

Show Me How You Burlesque "Show Me How You Burlesque" is a song recorded by American singer Christina Aguilera for the accompanying soundtrack album to the film ''Burlesque'' (2010), which stars Aguilera. It was written by Aguilera, C. "Tricky" Stewart and Claude Kelly ...

" – Ali and the Burlesque Lounge Troupe (performed by Christina Aguilera)

Soundtrack

The soundtrack album features ten tracks: eight performed by Aguilera including "

"; and two performed by Cher which are her first original recordings in 7 years. The soundtrack includes a mix of original and cover songs. Both the ballads from the soundtrack – "Bound to You" performed by Aguilera and " You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" performed by Cher – were nominated for the

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song is a Golden Globe Award that was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The award is presented to the songwriters of a ...

. Cher's "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me", which was written by

, won the award. In the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, the soundtrack was certified Gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

for shipments of 500,000 copies in October 2011.

Release

Marketing

The

theatrical trailer A trailer (also known as a preview, coming attraction or attraction video) is a commercial advertisement, originally for a feature film that is going to be exhibited in the future at a movie theater/cinema. It is a product of creative and techn ...

was attached to screenings of '' Step Up 3D'' and ''

Easy A ''Easy A'' (stylized as ''easy A'') is a 2010 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Will Gluck, written by Bert V. Royal, starring Emma Stone, Stanley Tucci, Patricia Clarkson, Thomas Haden Church, Dan Byrd, Amanda Bynes, Penn Bad ...

''. The first TV spot premiered during the season 2 premiere of Fox's '' Glee'' on September 21, 2010. A third TV spot also aired the following day during ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...

'', later followed by another during MTV's ''

Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore (known by locals simply as the Shore) is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May P ...

''. Several teasers have been released for promotional purposes including the

's " Something's Got a Hold on Me". This was then followed by the track "But I Am a Good Girl" which was released in November 2010. Aguilera performed "Bound to You" on ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'' and gave an interview and performance on '' Conan''. Aguilera also gave an interview to show host Chelsea Handler to discuss the film and other subjects. On November 19, 2010, Aguilera also gave a television interview to

Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. She starred in the sitcom ''Ellen'' from 1994 to 1998, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for " The Puppy Episode". Sh ...

. She then performed a track from the soundtrack, the Etta James track " Something's Got a Hold on Me". Aguilera performed "

" at the

American Music Awards of 2010 The 38th Annual American Music Awards were held November 21, 2010, at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live in Los Angeles, California. The awards recognized the most popular artists and albums from 2010's music list. Nominees were announced on October 12, 2 ...

and "Show Me How You Burlesque" at the ''

'' finale. She also performed "Express" on the final of the seventh series of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' which received criticism and complaints for the raunchy content.

Home media

The DVD and Blu-ray were released in North America on March 1, 2011. A Blu-ray/DVD combo has been released as well. The DVD and Blu-ray sales exceed one million units and have grossed $20,563,918 in the United States alone; and, , it is the 19th highest selling movie of the year. In all, the DVD has sold over 1.4 million units in the United States. Overall, it has grossed over $30,053,366 on video sales (DVD and Blu-ray sales) in United States alone.

Reception

Critical reception

''Burlesque'' received mixed reviews from critics. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, the film has a rating of 36% based on 176 reviews, with an average rating of 4.90/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Campy and clichéd, ''Burlesque'' wastes its talented cast (including a better-than-expected Christina Aguilera) on a movie that wavers uncertainly between 'bad' and 'so bad it's good.'" On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the film holds a score of 47 out of 100, based on 38 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Michael Phillips of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' said, "The choicest dialogue in ''Burlesque'' provokes the sort of laughter that other, intentionally funny films only dream of generating."

Mick LaSalle Mick is a masculine given name, usually a short form ( hypocorism) of Michael. Because of its popularity in Ireland, it is often used in England as a derogatory term for an Irish person or a person of Irish descent. In Australia the meaning broad ...

from ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The pa ...

'' gave the movie a full score and praised Aguilera's acting, calling her "jaw-droppingly good in several numbers" and said, "Aguilera knows how to listen to her fellow actors, to react and be spontaneous, and it makes all the difference". Kirk Honeycutt of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly large ...

'' called Burlesque "a refreshing throwback to movie musicals that celebrates its stars while indulging in sexy fun" and also praised Aguilera's acting and singing. Lou Lumenick of the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'' said, "Aguilera can dance like nobody's business, but her acting debut isn't going to keep Anne Hathaway awake at night."

's performance received praise from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular ...

'' and ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'' thought the dance numbers were thrilling. ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an engine ...

'' labelled the drama "perfunctory" while

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

said that "''Burlesque'' shows Cher and Christina Aguilera being all that they can be, and that's more than enough." ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' observed that the film "wants to be ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dinin ...

'', but lacks the edge and historical context to pull it off." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said that the story line "had already gathered dust by the time fthe 1933 musical '' 42nd Street''".

Box office

''Burlesque'' was released on Wednesday, November 24, 2010, the day before

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden ...

in the United States; on its opening day, it came in third to ''

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1'' is a 2010 fantasy film directed by David Yates from a screenplay by Steve Kloves. The film is the first of two cinematic parts based on the 2007 novel ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow ...

'' and ''

Tangled ''Tangled'' is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated musical adventure fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Loosely based on the German fairy tale ''Rapunzel'' in the collection of ...

''. On Thursday, November 25, 2010, it dropped down to fourth place in the box office behind ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1'', ''Tangled'' and '' Unstoppable'' and went down to fifth on Friday, November 26, 2010. On Sunday, November 28, 2010, it went back up to third place behind ''Tangled'' and ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1''. It stayed in the top five until December 10, 2010, when it fell to sixth behind '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'', '' The Tourist'', ''Tangled'', ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1'' and ''Unstoppable''. By the Christmas weekend, it was number 15 at the box office. The week after Thanksgiving, ''Burlesque'' experienced a substantial decrease on ticket sales, earning $9.65 million ($6.1 million for the weekend), for a total of $26.98 million for its first twelve days. , it had grossed $39.4 million in North America, and, , $51.1 million in foreign countries, for a total of $91 million worldwide, and an additional $42 million in domestic video sales (DVD and Blu-ray).

Legacy

According to Joey Nolfi of ''

'', since its release the movie "inspired everything, from drag queen revues to viral internet moments". Nolfi applauded ''Burlesque'' as "a campy, niche classic". In 2019, a full-length ''Burlesque'' tour, based on the movie, embarked, including at British venues. It starred Farrah Moan as Ali Rose and

Chad Michaels Chad Michael Storbeck, known professionally as Chad Michaels (born March 20, 1971), is an American drag performer and professional Cher impersonator. He was the runner-up of the fourth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', alongside Phi Phi O'Hara, ...

as Tess Scali. The ''Burlesque'' stage musical was supposed to open at the Paper Mill Playhouse, New Jersey, in Autumn 2020, followed by a

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''T ...

adaptation, but the plans were cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. The movie was also referenced in the third season of the VH1 reality show '' RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars''. In a 2020 interview Antin revealed a "hybrid television event/series", based on the movie, was under development. In January 2021,

Madison Hubbell Madison Hubbell (born February 24, 1991) is an American former ice dancer. She competed with Zachary Donohue from 2011 to 2022. With him, she is a two-time 2022 Winter Olympics medalist, a four-time World medalist, the 2018 Grand Prix Final cha ...

and

Zachary Donohue Zachary Tyler "Zach" Donohue (born January 8, 1991) is an American former ice dancer. With Madison Hubbell, he is a two-time 2022 Winter Olympics medalist, a four-time World medalist, the 2018 Grand Prix Final champion, the 2014 Four Continents ...

won the gold medal at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. During the 2020–21 season they danced to a medley of Aguilera's ''Burlesque'' songs, which included "

Awards

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* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Burlesque 2010 films 2010 LGBT-related films 2010 romantic drama films 2010s dance films 2010s musical drama films 2010s romantic musical films American dance films American LGBT-related films American musical drama films American romantic drama films American romantic musical films Backstage musicals Burlesque Films about orphans Films about singers Films about striptease Films produced by Donald De Line Films scored by Christophe Beck Films set in Iowa Films set in Los Angeles Films shot in Los Angeles Screen Gems films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films