Back to biopics: What makes some stars’ stories a massive success while others bomb at the box office?

There has been a massive resurgence in the popularity of movie biopics of musicians yet the pairing of a much-loved musical artist with a great creative team alone doesn’t guarantee that the end product will be any good

Marisa Abela stars as Amy Winehouse in director Sam Taylor-Johnson's Back to Black. Photo: Dean Rogers

Rory Cashin

There are a number of dates that are immediately unforgettable in each and every one of our lives, and for me, one of those is August 25, 2001. This was the date that US singer and actress Aaliyah died, when her plane crashed while returning from the shoot of her latest music video. It was also the first time that the death of a celebrity had greatly impacted my younger self; as a huge fan of her work, 22-year-old Aaliyah’s sudden and untimely death came as a very sad shock. Nearly a quarter of a century later, Hollywood hasn’t adapted the dramatic personal and professional story of Aaliyah’s life for the big screen — but it feels like it will only be a matter of time.

Recent years have seen a massive resurgence in the popularity of movie biopics of musicians, resulting in some of the biggest critical and commercial hits of the entire subgenre to date.