Saltburn is poised to create the next "Running Up That Hill" type smash

"Murder On The Dancefloor" by Sophie Ellis-Bextor is climbing the charts thanks to a Saltburn assist

By Mary Kate Carr | January 5, 2024 | 3:20pm

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Barry Keoghan in Saltburn; Sophie Ellis-Bextor Screenshot: MGM; Sophie Ellis-Bextor/YouTube

Love it or hate it—reactions tend to be polarized—Saltburn is one of the year’s most talked-about films. A few eyebrow-raising scenes have solidified its place in the zeitgeist, but Emerald Fennell’s latest has another thing going for it: a show-stopping finale set to “Murder On The Dance Floor” by Sophie Ellis-Bextor. And if there’s one thing Saltburn fans and detractors can agree on, it’s that “Murder On The Dancefloor” is an all-time banger.

A well-placed musical moment on-screen can completely change the fortunes of an old hit. The most famous recent example is the monumental re-popularization of “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush after it was featured in the fourth season of Stranger Things. (Other examples: “Come And Get Your Love” in Guardians Of The Galaxy or “Bohemian Rhapsody” in Wayne’s World.) “Murder On The Dancefloor” is the latest track to benefit from becoming a film star. Originally peaking at #2 on the U.K. charts back in 2001, the disco-pop tune is now expected to re-enter the Top Ten for the first time in more than 20 years, according to Official Charts.

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That’s just one aspect of the song’s resurgence. Per People, “Murder On The Dancefloor” has seen a 250% increase in Spotify streams globally since Saltburn hit Prime Video on December 22. The song had its biggest day ever on New Years Eve with 1.5 million streams, causing it to enter the service’s global songs chart for the first time at #130. On top of that, the song is currently rising on the TikTok music charts, in part due to a viral trend recreating Barry Keoghan’s dance at the end of Saltburn.

@sophieebtiktok Heading into 2024 like… Happy Saltburn New Year! Xx #murderonthedancefloor #sophieellisbextor #saltburnmovie ♬ sophs awful edit thats gone viral – sophie

“It actually feels really magical. And if I’m honest, I don’t think I’ve completely processed it really,” Ellis-Bextor told the BBC about the song’s newfound popularity. All music “goes off and has its own journey,” the singer noted, but the fact that “new people who weren’t even alive the first time it came out” have found it is “just spectacular.”

She added, “It’s extraordinary. It’s a song I’ve been singing for over 20 years, I still love singing it. I love the way people react when I do it live. But for new people to be discovering it, for it to be making new memories with people is kind of beautiful.”