Hollywood Flashback: When Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ Stormed the Box Office

Prince took his stardom to new heights when he made a splash with Purple Rain.

Director Albert Magnoli’s musical drama starred Prince as the Kid, an aspiring musician from an abusive upbringing who navigates a rivalry with another performer (Morris E. Day) and a romance with a fellow singer (Apollonia Kotero).

Following the success of his 1982 album, 1999, Prince told manager Robert Cavallo of his big-screen aspirations. After facing resistance from studios, Cavallo produced the project himself, with Prince writing the songs and culling story ideas from his own journey.

Magnoli worked on the script with screenwriter William Blinn (Fame) but also encouraged collaboration from Prince’s friends who were cast in supporting roles, including Day, who fronted the band Prince put together. Recalls co-star Jerome Benton, who was the sidekick in the band: “Albert would ask me, ‘If Morris said this, what would you say?’ [And then,] ‘Morris, if you said this, what would Jerome say?’ We created some cool dialogue from that.”

Although there reportedly was on-set tension between Prince and Day, the film’s team remembers Prince as a positive figure. “There wasn’t anything that was filmed without him being there, rooting you on,” says co-star Jill Jones, a singer who had worked with Prince and also dated him.

Midway through production, Magnoli wanted an additional song for a montage about the Kid’s plight; after one night in the studio, Prince handed over “When Doves Cry,” which became his first No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100. Warner Bros. released Purple Rain on July 27, 1984, and the movie took in $68 million ($206 million today) and won the Oscar for best original song score. The soundtrack also was a smash, going platinum 13 times.

Forty years on, Prince’s allure remains: A stage musical adaptation of Purple Rain will debut in spring 2025, while Ryan Coogler is attached to produce a jukebox musical of Prince songs for Universal. Benton is proud to have been part of Purple Rain and notes that its success proved tough to top: “Prince did great things after that, too, but he just didn’t do Purple Rain again.”

This story first appeared in the July 31 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.