Pure magic. Channing Tatum‘s Magic Mike took movie theaters by storm in 2012, and the franchise boosted the profiles of nearly the entire cast. Nearly a decade later, the stars of the film continue to headline Hollywood hits.
Magic Mike follows the titular character, Mike Lane (Tatum), as he makes ends meet any way he can — from handyman jobs to detailing cars. However, the Florida resident makes real money when he takes the stage at a strip club.
Mike takes Adam (Alex Pettyfer), a fresh-faced 19-year-old, under his wing to help him find success in the business. However, there are downsides to being the star of an all-male revue.
The comedic drama, which was directed by Steven Soderbergh, was loosely inspired by Tatum’s time as a stripper before he got his big break in Hollywood. “It’s not all my life, but it’s definitely all my experiences,” the Step Up star told The Hollywood Reporter in February 2012 ahead of the movie’s release. “I basically poured all my memories and stories out. We just kind of wrote something entirely unique to itself.”
The Alabama native produced the film, and Reid Carolin wrote the screenplay within about one month.
“We really want it to be good,” Tatum said at the time. “I know it’s getting a lot of press and a lot of hype and it’s scary when that happens because you just want people to like it, or to understand it.”
It’s safe to say people liked it. Magic Mike reportedly had a budget of $7 million and earned over $167 million at the worldwide box office. The 2015 sequel, Magic Mike XXL, scored over $117 million globally.
In 2016, Tatum revealed he already had an idea of the focus for the third film. “The first one was about Mike, the second one was about the guys and I think the third one is really about man and woman having a conversation about sex and themselves and who we all are,” he told THR at the time. “That’s the next step I would like to take with the story.”
While a third movie, Magic Mike’s Last Dance, wasn’t announced until November 2021, the franchise expanded in other ways while fans awaited news of another installment.
Magic Mike Live, the stage show, has hit Las Vegas and London, and a touring production hit North America in 2022. A reality show, Finding Magic Mike, helped dancers find their confidence as they learned the tricks of the trade and competed for a cash prize. The seven-episode series, which gave the winner a chance to appear on the Magic Mike Live stage, premiered in December 2021 on HBO Max.
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Before all of the success, however, it was just Tatum and a cast of incredibly attractive dudes showing off their best moves. Here’s what the Magic Mike cast is up to now:
