Reception
The film barely broke even at the box office in its initial release, and received a mixed-to-negative critical reception. A double feature of Xanadu and another musical released at about the same time, Can't Stop the Music, inspired John J. B. Wilson to create the Golden Raspberry Awards (or "Razzies"), an annual event "dishonoring" what is considered the worst in cinema for a given year. Xanadu won the first Razzie for Worst Director and was nominated for six other awards.
Over the years, the film has developed something of a cult audience. With a combination of contemporaneous and modern reviews, Xanadu today holds a "Rotten" rating of 39% from the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. The soundtrack album (UK #2, US #4), however, was a commercial success. It was certified Double Platinum in the US and Gold in the UK, and also spent one week atop the Cashbox and Record World Pop Albums charts. The soundtrack contained five Top 20 singles:
- "Magic" – Olivia Newton-John (No. 1 (4 weeks) Pop, No. 1 (5 weeks) AC, certified gold)
- "Xanadu" – Olivia Newton-John/Electric Light Orchestra (No. 8 Pop, No. 2 AC, No. 1 (2 weeks (UK)))
- "All Over the World" – Electric Light Orchestra (No. 13 Pop, No. 45 AC)
- "I'm Alive" – Electric Light Orchestra (No. 16 Pop, No. 48 AC, certified gold)
- "Suddenly" – Olivia Newton-John/Cliff Richard (No. 20 Pop, No. 4 AC)
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