There have been many literary and dramatic works based on Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera, ranging from stage musicals to films to children's books. Some well known stage and screen adaptations of the novel are the 1925 film and the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical (see The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)); Susan Kay's 1990 Phantom is one of the best known novels and includes in-depth study of the title character's life and experiences.
Film
Das Gespenst im Opernhaus or Das Phantom der Oper (1916): Featuring the Swedish actor Nils Olaf Chrisander (1884–1947) and the Norwegian actress Aud Egede-Nissen (1893–1974, aka Aud Egede Richter). Now a lost film, it is only known to have existed because of references to it in other media. The Phantom of the Opera (1925): Featuring Lon Chaney, Norman Kerry and Mary Philbin. For this classic silent film Universal Pictures created a faithful replica of the Paris Opera House as a setting. The film was reissued in 1929 with sound effects, music and some reshot dialogue sequences (but none with Chaney). The scene in which Erik plays the organ and Christine creeps up behind him to snatch his mask off is often cited by critics and connoisseurs of film art as one of the most memorable moments in the history of all film. The makeup of Lon Chaney was so disfiguring that the camera operator lost focus while shooting the sequence, and theaters were urged to have smelling salts on hand in case ladies in the audience fainted in horror. Spooks (1930): An Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon. Song at Midnight () (1937): Featuring Gu Menghe and Hu Ping, directed by Ma-Xu Weibang. This classic from mainland China marks the first feature film talkie adaptation and was the first to feature the phantom becoming intentionally disfigured by acid. Phantom of the Opera (1943): Featuring Claude Rains as the Phantom and the singer Susanna Foster as Christine. This film reused the same Paris Opera studio set as the original silent film and once again features the spectacular scene in which the Phantom causes the chandelier to crash down on the heads of the audience. In this version, however, horror is mostly downplayed in favour of grand operatic spectacle. The Phantom's anger is sparked by his belief that the credit for his musical compositions is being stolen by the music publisher. The Phantom's facial disfigurement is also caused by having had acid thrown in his face much like in Song at Midnight, rather than having been born disfigured as in Leroux's original story. This accidental disfigurement became common, and copied in later film versions. El Fantasma de la Opereta (1959): Featuring German Valdés (Tin Tan) and Pedro D'Aguillón. Aldo (Tin-Tan) and his girlfriend reopen an abandoned opera house, but find out that the place is inhabited by a group of Phantoms wearing the Claude Rains' 1943 "Phantom of the Opera" costume. The Phantom of the Opera (1962): Hammer Horror version featuring Herbert Lom and Heather Sears. This version has the Phantom playing the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach on the organ - which has become a cultural trope indicating tragic horror. Set in London instead of Paris, the plot is very similar to the 1943 Claude Rains version, with the Phantom being prodded into activity because his own masterpiece, an opera about Joan of Arc, is being mounted in that opera house and credited to an unscrupulous aristocrat. The Mid-Nightmare, Part One (1962) and Part Two (1963) (-上集 Ye ban ge sheng - shang ji and 下集 xia ji): Remake of the 1937 Chinese film, this time featuring Zhao Lei and Betty Loh Ti. Il mostro dell'opera or The Vampire of the Opera (1964): Featuring Giuseppe Addobbati. Murders in the Rue Morgue (1971): A series of unexplained murders takes place at a Grand Guignol-type theatre where the players have suddenly become real-life victims. A loose adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's story "The Murders in the Rue Morgue", but at times more resembling The Phantom of the Opera. Wicked, Wicked (1973): Writer/director Richard L. Bare's split-screen horror-comedy which recycles the plot and utilizes a score composed for the 1925 film. Phantom of the Paradise (1974): Also called The Phantom of the Fillmore; a rock musical directed by Brian De Palma. The film is a parody of multiple films and pop culture references. Song at Midnight (1985): Remake of the 1937 Chinese film of the same name. The Phantom of the Opera (1988): Featuring Aiden Grennell: Animated film that is mostly faithful to the original story. The Phantom of the Ritz (1988): Featuring Joshua Sussman. The Phantom of the Opera (1989): Directed by Dwight H. Little, featuring Robert Englund and Jill Schoelen. This is a rather sadistic and gory version of the story, though in this respect it resembles the original novel more than some more romantic versions. There is a Faustian motif throughout and the film features extracts from Gounod's opera Faust - as in the original novel. In this version (which, like the 1962 Hammer version, is set in London), the Phantom was a handsome young man who sold his soul to the Devil in return for being loved for his music - his disfigurement is the Devil's way of making sure he is loved for no other reason. An additional innovation is that, instead of putting on masks, the Phantom stitches his disguises with thread and needle onto his skin. Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge (1989): Featuring Derek Rydall. The Phantom of the Opera (1991): Featuring David Staller and Elizabeth Walsh. A videotaped film of a stage production in Florida. O Fantasma da Ópera (1991): Featuring Geiso Amadeu. The Chipmunks - Phantom Of The Rock Opera (1991) The Phantom Lover (1995): A third remake of the 1937 film, by Hong Kong director Ronny Yu and featuring Leslie Cheung. Title in Chinese is the same as the other versions. Il Fantasma dell'Opera (1998): Directed by Dario Argento, featuring Julian Sands and Asia Argento, in which Julian Sands is a good-looking man whose animus comes from being abandoned as a baby and raised by the numberless rats in the subterranean levels of the opera house; he also, somehow, has developed telepathic abilities. He kills off various people who, in his opinion, spoil the wonderfulness of the opera house. Phantom of the Megaplex (2000): a Disney Channel Original Movie. A version of the character appears in the 2003 film adaptation of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen as a terrorist named The Fantom, who is not really the Opera ghost although he uses his motif. Joel Schumacher's The Phantom of the Opera (2004): Adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Charles Hart musical, starring Gerard Butler, Patrick Wilson and Emmy Rossum. Angel of Music (2009): A low-budget independent film directed by John Woosley. The film is a semi-sequel to the original Leroux novel, revolving around a reporter's search for The Phantom's rumoured long-lost child. Erik: Portrait of a Living Corpse (2010): a low-budget, student film adaptation The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall (2011): Adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber and Charles Hart musical, starring Ramin Karimloo, Hadley Fraser and Sierra Boggess. A Monster in Paris (2011): French film very loosely based on Gaston Leroux's novel. Phantom of the Grindhouse (2013): Written and directed by Chris Seaver. The Phantom of the Opera (2014): A low-budget independent film directed by and starring Anthony Mann. Phantom of the Theatre (2016): Killed in a fire 13 years earlier, vengeful spirits of a performance troupe seek new victims as the playhouse reopens. On June 6, 2017, Alex Kurtzman announced a new Phantom of the Opera film as part of Universal's Dark Universe. However, after Kurtzman's departure, the project is most likely not happening. On September 6, 2024, a YA focused adaptation of the story, simply titled Phantom, was announced to be in development for Disney+. Kenny Ortega is set to direct. On June 23, 2025, Andrew Lloyd Webber revealed that a remake of the 2004 film adaptation of the musical is in early development. On August 13, 2025, it was announced that Qubic Pictures and LW Entertainment would adapt the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical into an Anime. Ben Fitton's Phantom of the Opera (2025): A low-budget independent film directed by Ben Fitton.
The following films bear no relation to the Leroux novel other than the title: El Fantasma de la Opereta (1954): Featuring Gogó Andreu and Tono Andreu. Phantom of the Horse Opera (1961): A Woody Woodpecker cartoon. Phantom of the Horse Opera (1962): An episode of the Beany and Cecil cartoon television series.
Television El Fantasma de la Ópera (1954): Argentine miniseries featuring Raissa Bignardi. El Fantasma de la Ópera (1960): Argentine miniseries featuring Narciso Ibáñez Menta. Widely remembered; part of a series "Masterworks of Terror". The Phantom of What Opera? (1971): an episode from Rod Serling's Night Gallery. The Phantom of Hollywood (1974): TV Movie featuring Jack Cassidy as an old-time movie star who had been disfigured by an accident and now haunts the backlot of a condemned Hollywood studio. The Howdy Doody Show: Phantom of the Doody-O Studio (1976): A multipart storyline where a “Phantom” causes trouble at the Doodyville studio leading to adventures with the main cast and child audience as they uncover the Phantom’s true identity. The Phantom of the Opera (1983): TV Movie featuring Maximilian Schell, Michael York, and Jane Seymour. The Phantom of the Opera (1990): Two-part miniseries based on the Yeston-Kopit musical (see below in ""Stage"), featuring Charles Dance as the Phantom/Erik and Teri Polo as Christine. "Pantin' at the Opera" (1995): an episode of the PBS TV series, Wishbone. El fantasma de la Ópera (1999): an episode of Catalan animated series, The Triplets. Song at Midnight (2005): Television adaptation of the 1937 Chinese film by Ma-Xu Weibang, which in turn is a loose adaptation of Leroux's novel.
Stage The Phantom of the Opera (1975) by David Giles. "El Fantasma de la Opera" ("The Phantom of the Opera", 1976) Mexican musical adapted by Raúl Astor from the Gaston Leroux's book with music and lyrics by Mexican composer Nacho Méndez. It was staged at Teatro de los Insurgentes in Mexico City where it ran for almost 400 performances and showcased for Mexican TV. Phantom of the Opera (1976/1984): Musical by Ken Hill, with lyrics set to music by Gounod, Offenbach, Verdi, and others. Phantom of the Opera: A New Victorian Thriller (1979) by Gene Traylor. The Phantom of the Opera: Or the Passage of Christine (1986) with book by Kathleen Masterson and music by David Bishop. Commissioned by and premiered at Capital Repertory Theatre in Albany, NY April 19-May 18, 1986. The Phantom of the Opera (1986): Musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber with lyrics by Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe. This musical was adapted into a film in 2004 directed by Joel Schumacher. A 25th anniversary staging of the musical was also filmed. (See above). The Phantom of the Opera (a.k.a. The American Phantom of the Opera: A Love Story) (1987) by Helen Grigal (book and lyrics) and Dr. Walter Anderson (music) Produced by the Oregon Ridge Dinner Theater in cooperation with the Baltimore Actor's Theater. Director/Choreographer: Helen Grigal. The Pinchpenny Phantom of the Opera: An Affordable Musical Comedy (1988) by Dave Reiser and Jack Sharkey. The Phantom of the Opera: The Play (1988–1989) by John Kenley and Robert Thomas Noll, music by David Gooding and Charles Gounod. Phantom of the Opera (1990) with book by Bruce Falstein and music by Lawrence Rosen and Paul Shierhorn. Phantom (1991) book by David H. Bell, music by Tom Sivak. Phantom (1991): Musical by Maury Yeston (music and lyrics) and Arthur Kopit (text). Phantom of the Op'ry: A Melodrama with Music (1991), book by Tom Kelly, music by Gerald V. Castle and lyrics by Michael C. Vigilant.