The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Los Angeles

“As a movie musical, it's a train wreck." That's how one reviewer greeted Universal's stage-to-film adaptation of "Mamma Mia!" And that review was only one of a batch of disastrous notices.

But even the staunchest detractors conceded the Meryl Streep film's feel-good quality -- "a massive mess, but it's fun t" and many found "a soft spot for the songs of ABBA."

Fortunately for Universal, "Mamma's" stalwart overseas fan base of mostly women apparently never heard of film critics. Foreign ticket sales stand at more than $300 million, making the film the highest-grossing musical of all time overseas. The loyal British aficionados of the stage musical and of 1970s Swedish pop group ABBA accounted for more than $100 million of that total. It's the top-grossing film of 2008 in Britain and the fifth-highest ever.