The first installment of the High School Musical series, the film was directed by choreographer and filmmaker Kenny Ortega from a screenplay by Peter Barsocchini.

It stars Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Lucas Grabeel, Alyson Reed, Corbin Bleu, and Monique Coleman.

[6] Internationally, the film also saw considerable success; as of 2019, over 225 million unique viewers were calculated as watched High School Musical.

[11] On New Year's Eve, high school juniors Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez are both vacationing at a ski lodge in Utah and meet when they are called up to sing a karaoke duet together ("Start of Something New") during a party.

Troy returns home to East High School in New Mexico, where he is captain of the basketball team which his father coaches.

During basketball practice, Troy is distracted by thoughts of Gabriella and the idea that he might enjoy singing ("Get'cha Head in the Game").

From the back of the auditorium, Gabriella and Troy watch Sharpay and her twin brother Ryan audition for the musical with an uptempo version of "What I've Been Looking For".

When the callback list is posted, Sharpay is furious that she has competition for the lead role, while the Wildcats basketball team is shocked that Troy has auditioned.

After discovering that Troy is eager to step outside of the social norms, other students confess their secret passions and talents ("Stick to the Status Quo").

Troy and Gabriella rush to the auditorium as Sharpay and Ryan finish their callback song ("Bop to the Top").

After Gabriella and Troy successfully perform their song "Breaking Free", Ms. Darbus gives them the lead roles, making Sharpay and Ryan understudies.

Both teams win their respective competitions, Chad asks Taylor out, Sharpay makes a truce with Gabriella, and the entire school gathers in the gym to celebrate ("We're All in This Together").

In a post-credits scene, Sharpay praises Zeke for a bag of cookies he made for her, and he says he will make her a crème brûlée.

Additionally, Socorro Herrera plays Gabriella's mother Lisa Montez and Joey Miyashima portrays Dave Matsui, the principal of East High.

Anne Kathryn Parma, Nick Whitaker and Falcon Grace portray Susan, Alan and Cyndra, three students who unsuccessfully audition for the musical.

The website's critics consensus reads: "High School Musical is brazenly saccharine, but it makes up for it with its memorable show tunes, eye-popping choreography, and appealing cast.

"[21] On the other hand, David Nusair gave the film a negative review with a score of 1.5/4 saying, "...it's difficult to imagine even the most die-hard fan of musicals finding anything here worth embracing.

"[22] Scott Weinberg also gave the film a negative review saying, "A schmaltzy little piece of obvious fluff that's directed in truly horrendous fashion and populated by cardboard characters who spit out simplistic platitudes and breathy pop tunes.

It created a sales record when 1.2 million copies were sold in its first six days, making it the fastest-selling television film of all time.

High School Musical also became the first Disney Channel Original Movie to be released on Region 3 DVD, when it went on sale on October 10 and December 15 in Hong Kong and Taiwan, respectively.

[47] High School Musical: El desafio (Argentina) is a spin-off for the Argentine market, based on the book "Battle of the Bands".

[49] Film Business Asia critic Derek Elley rated the adaptation three points out of ten and called the choreography by former Madonna dancer, Ruthy Inchaustegui, and songs "bland".

[citation needed] The High School Musical: The Concert tour started on November 29, 2006, kicking off in San Diego, California.

[50] The cast included 2004 World Junior Bronze Medalist Jordan Brauninger and 2004–2005 Australian national champion Bradley Santer.