8 Movie Soundtrack Albums That Sold Millions Of Copies, From The Bodyguard To Saturday Night Fever

There was a time when the soundtrack was more than a bonus. For some movies, the album outsold nearly everything else in the record store that year.

Mental Floss ranks the best-selling movie soundtracks of all time by RIAA-certified units, and the list reads like a tour of every living room in America. Here are eight, in order, with a story behind each.

Some will bring back a dance floor. Others will bring back a long drive with the radio turned up.

Let us start at the top.

Mental Floss Puts The Bodyguard At 18 Million Units, And Guinness Says 44 Million Worldwide

The Bodyguard, released in 1992, is No. 1 on the Mental Floss list at 18 million units. Guinness World Records calls it the best-selling movie soundtrack of all time, with more than 44 million copies sold worldwide.

Guinness also says it spent 20 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 between December 1992 and May 1993. It was the first album to sell over one million copies in a single week in the Nielsen SoundScan era, with 1.06 million in its sixth week at No. 1.

Mental Floss adds a good story. Elvis Presley reportedly wanted to record Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You,” but his people wanted half the publishing rights, and Parton refused.

Saturday Night Fever Sold 16 Million Units In 1977, Mental Floss Says

Saturday Night Fever, released in 1977, comes second at 16 million units, per Mental Floss. Guinness lists it among the three biggest-selling soundtracks as of 2012, at about 40 million copies worldwide.

That is a remarkable run for a record built around a dance craze. For anyone who spent a Saturday night in a polyester suit, the numbers feel earned.

Prince Wrote Around 100 Songs For Purple Rain, Mental Floss Says

Purple Rain, released in 1984, sold 13 million units according to Mental Floss. The article says Prince wrote around 100 songs for the movie.

Here is the twist. The title song, “Purple Rain,” was not part of that original group.

That detail is a good reminder that great records are not always written on schedule.

Forrest Gump Packed Songs From Jefferson Airplane To Lynyrd Skynyrd, Mental Floss Reports

Forrest Gump, released in 1994, sold 12 million units on Mental Floss’ list. The article describes the soundtrack as songs from Jefferson Airplane to Lynyrd Skynyrd.

The film is Robert Zemeckis’s Oscar-winning hit. Its album put those songs side by side on one record.

It is a different kind of soundtrack from the single-artist albums above, built from existing songs instead of one big new voice.

Executive Producer Jimmy Ienner Said Dirty Dancing’s Film And Record Used Different Mixes

Dirty Dancing, released in 1987, sold 11 million units per Mental Floss. Guinness puts it at about 42 million copies as of 2012.

Mental Floss reports that executive producer Jimmy Ienner said the film and the record used different mixes. Guitars were lowered in the film, and synthesizers were replaced with organs in the film version.

So the record you wore out in your teens may not sound exactly like what you heard at the movie theater.

Celine Dion Told Billboard She Wanted To Sing Titanic’s Song And Leave

Titanic, released in 1997, also sold 11 million units. Mental Floss quotes Celine Dion telling Billboard that when she recorded “My Heart Will Go On,” her thought was to sing the song and leave.

It is a funny line for a song that became one of the best-known ballads of the decade. The recording plan was simple. The result was not.

Ann Wilson Broke Her Wrist While Preparing Footloose’s Duet, Mental Floss Says

Footloose, from 1984, sold 9 million units. Mental Floss says Ann Wilson of Heart broke her wrist while preparing to duet on “Almost Paradise.”

She refused painkillers because they would affect her singing voice. That is the sort of professional stubbornness that makes a good record.

AllMusic Says Top Gun’s Songs Still Define The Bombastic Sound Of Mid-80s Pop, Mental Floss Reports

Top Gun, released in 1986, also sold 9 million units. Mental Floss cites AllMusic as saying the songs “still define the bombastic, melodramatic sound” of mid-80s pop charts.

If you have ever turned the volume up on a drive, you know the sound they mean.

Further down the Mental Floss list sit The Lion King from 1994 at 10 million units and Grease from 1978 at 8 million. The article says Grease is the second highest-grossing musical of all time, according to Box Office Mojo, behind 2017’s Beauty and the Beast.

Hugely popular soundtracks were not only the work of big studios, either. The same list includes O Brother, Where Art Thou? from 2000 at 8 million units, and the article quotes Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons saying the film introduced them to bluegrass.

These eight albums sold in the millions because they gave fans a way to take the movie home. If you have any of these records, cassettes or CDs in a closet, they are worth a look for memories alone. The numbers above are RIAA-certified units from Mental Floss, so they are not the whole story. Guinness’s worldwide totals for the biggest titles are far higher, and each album sold in its own way to its own crowd.

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