Film Soundtracks Are #1 And #2 On Billboard Albums Chart For First Time In Nearly 20 Years
It’s a big week for Hollywood at the top of the Billboard 200 albums chart. On the 3/17-dated list, Black Panther: The Album returns to #1, while former leader The Greatest Showman steps 5-2. Soundtracks, thus, are the #1 and #2 albums on the chart simultaneously for the first time in almost eight years, and theatrical film soundtracks rule the top two for the first time in nearly 20 years.
The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the US based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The new 3/17-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard’s websites on 3/13.
Soundtracks last scored the #1 and #2 slots on the 6/26/10-dated list with the TV soundtrack Glee: The Music, Journey To Regionals at #1 and the theatrical movie soundtrack The Twilight Saga: Eclipse at #2.
Notably, it’s been nearly 20 years since theatrical film soundtracks have monopolized the top two. One has to scroll all the way back to 7/25/98, when Armageddon — The Album and City Of Angels were at #1 and #2.
Since the Billboard 200 chart dated 8/17/63 — when Billboard combined previously separate mono and stereo album charts into one overall albums chart — just 26 weeks have seen soundtracks of all kinds at #1 and #2.
Here’s a look at the 26 weeks since 1963 where soundtracks were both #1 and #2:
March 17, 2018
#1 – Black Panther: The Album
#2 – The Greatest Showman
June 26, 2010
#1 – Glee: The Music, Journey To Regionals
#2 – The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Sept. 1, 2007
#1 – High School Musical 2
#2 – Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus (Soundtrack/Miley Cyrus)
July 25, 1998
#1 – Armageddon — The Album
#2 – City Of Angels
June 13, 1998
#1 – City Of Angels
#2 – Godzilla — The Album
April 29, 1995
#1 – The Lion King
#2 – Friday
Aug. 13-Sept. 10, 1994 (five weeks)
#1 – The Lion King
#2 – Forrest Gump
May 31, 1975
#1 – That’s The Way Of The World (Soundtrack/Earth, Wind & Fire)
#2 – Tommy
July 11-25, 1970 (three weeks)
#1 – Woodstock
#2 – Let It Be (Soundtrack/The Beatles)
Nov. 13, 1965
#1 – Help! (Soundtrack/The Beatles)
#2 – The Sound Of Music
May 22-June 12, 1965 (four weeks)
#1 – Mary Poppins
#2 – The Sound Of Music
March 13; April 10-17, 1965 (three weeks)
#1 – Mary Poppins
#2 – Goldfinger
March 20-April 3, 1965 (three weeks)
#1 – Goldfinger
#2 – Mary Poppins
This article originally appeared on Billboard.