The “High School Musical’ series of films is one propelled by the unbeatable formula of attractive teenagers, catchy tunes and innocent romance, which have made it into an instant success. It’s being hailed by critics as the closest modern equivalent to classic films like Grease and Saturday Night Fever. The first two parts have been made directly for TV and shown on the Disney Channel. Now the third installment, High School Musical 3: Senior Year, is hitting theaters this weekend.

The movie, which is being directed and choreographed by Kenny Ortega, who also choreographed other classic musicals such as Xanadu and Dirty Dancing, stars Zac Efron, Corbin Bleu, Ashley Tisdale and Vanessa Hudgens much like we’ve come to know them throughout the previous chapters of the story, growing and maturing from teen idol wannabes to accomplished young people. And even though the end of the film sees the characters head off to such Universities as Juilliard, Berkeley, Yale, Stanford and the University of Arizona, a fresh set of younger characters have been introduced ready for the eventual sequel.

Although the genre of the music in the previous parts has varied a bit, the third part usually keeps it in the pop-rock area. The musical numbers are also larger, more expansive, perhaps as a transition to the big screen.

Romance is still a key point of the film and as usual they’re keeping it very mild, as the film enjoys a G rating. In the past, it used to be that a G rating used to guarantee a box office flop, but thanks to animated films made by Disney’s own Pixar.

BoxOfficeGuru.com predicted that the movie would "graduate magna cum laude" at this weekend’s box office. They estimate that the movie could rake in at least $39 million on its opening weekend, and could gross a total of $100 million in North America alone. Other media outlets give similar estimates.