Phantom of the Opera is also considered the most successful musical of all time with a ticket sales of up to $3.2 billion The Phantom Of Philadelphia shirt (should know that the best-selling movie ever, Titanic, also only achieved the box office. tickets $1.9 billion) and more than 100,000 million spectators. It wasn't until 1922, when Carl Laemmle, President of Universal Studios, happened to read Phantom of the Opera, he was really shocked and decided to recreate the story on screen. The character of Phantom made such a strong impression that in many cinemas at the time, people had to prepare free smelling powders for the faint-hearted audience to wake up from fainting due to too much fear. In 1893, once, when he peered through a small hole toward the stage, as he often did, Phantom saw Christie, a beautiful young supporting actress, and immediately felt that his heart belonged to her.