War of the Worlds (2005)
94%RT Audience Score: 42%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 3 Oscars
16 wins & 49 nominations total
Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of War of the Worlds delivers on the thrill and paranoia of H.G. Wells’ classic novel while impressively updating the action and effects for modern audiences.
War of the Worlds is the ultimate popcorn flick that will have you on the edge of your seat. With thrilling action scenes and a story that will tug at your heartstrings, this movie is a must-see. Plus, who doesn’t love watching stuff blow up into oblivion? Spielberg’s direction is spot-on, and Tom Cruise delivers a performance that will leave you in awe. So grab some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy the ride. Just make sure to hold on tight!
Production Company(ies)
Paramount Pictures, Dreamworks Pictures, Amblin Entertainment,
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Wide)
Filming Location(s)
JF Kennedy Blvd., Bayonne, New Jersey, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for frightening sequences of sci-fi violence and disturbing images
Year of Release
2005
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:DTS Dolby Digital SDDS Dolby Atmos
-
Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
-
Runtime:1h 56m
-
Language(s):English
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 29, 2005 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 28, 2005
Genre(s)
Adventure/Action
Keyword(s)
starring Tom Cruise, Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto, Justin Chatwin, Tim Robbins, Rick Gonzalez, directed by Steven Spielberg, written by H.G Wells, Josh Friedman, David Koepp, Adventure, Action, PG-13, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Wendy Ide, Nell Minow, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Jessica Winter, Ken Tucker, Scott Tobias, Anton Bitel, David Walsh, Mike Massie, Leigh Paatsch, Allison Rose, Danielle Solzman, alien invasion, family drama, special effects, visual flare, long takes, explosive action, CGI, green screen, thrilling, scary, moving, funny, captivating, popcorn flick, paranoia, modern audiences, adaptation, H.G Wells’ classic novel, electromagnetic pulses, lightning strike, alien invasion, protect his children, seek refuge, Kathleen Kennedy, Colin Wilson, Surround, Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS, Flat (1.37:1)
Worldwide gross: $603,873,119
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $920,292,568
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 111
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 100,359,059
US/Canada gross: $234,280,354
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $357,039,354
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 149
US/Canada opening weekend: $64,878,725
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $98,874,095
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 83
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $132,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $201,165,800
Production budget ranking: 113
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $108,327,783
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $610,798,985
ROI to date (est.): 197%
ROI ranking: 633
Dakota Fanning – Rachel Ferrier
Miranda Otto – Mary Ann
Justin Chatwin – Robbie
Tim Robbins – Harlan Ogilvy
Rick Gonzalez – Vincent
Director(s)
Steven Spielberg
Writer(s)
H.G. Wells, Josh Friedman, David Koepp
Producer(s)
Kathleen Kennedy, Colin Wilson
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 3 Oscars
16 wins & 49 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (265) | Top Critics (60) | Fresh (199) | Rotten (66)
This superior popcorn flick revels in the unabashed joy of blowing stuff into oblivion.
July 5, 2022
Wendy Ide
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
The story is affecting, the action scenes are thrilling, the issues are resonant.
August 15, 2013 | Rating: B+
Nell Minow
Beliefnet
TOP CRITIC
Spielberg’s calculations turn out to be more prominent than any effects they could possibly produce, and the less pretentious 1953 version by producer George Pal emerges as more likable.
June 8, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
The film succeeds as pure sensation, an exacting distillation of fear.
June 24, 2006
Jessica Winter
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds is huge and scary, moving and funny-another capper to a career that seems like an unending succession of captivations.
May 12, 2006
Ken Tucker
New York Magazine/Vulture
TOP CRITIC
There likely won’t be a more gripping film this year than Spielberg’s War Of The Worlds, which at its best glides along like choreography with a camera, slowly parsing out information while shrouding the rest in shadow and suggestion.
September 26, 2005
Scott Tobias
AV Club
TOP CRITIC
its human hero strap[s] explosive devices to his body in a campaign of guerrilla warfare and suicide bombing against an overwhelming force – all tactics of, precisely, the othered terror on which America had recently declared war.
October 16, 2021
Anton Bitel
BFI
The great weakness, ultimately, of the film is that its ambivalence, unease and discomfort about American realities in general and the “war on terror” in particular are not placed in the forefront, developed or worked through to the end.
February 15, 2021
David Walsh
World Socialist Web Site
The carnage is more colossal than in most disaster movies, the sets are spectacularly ominous, the CG is impressive, and the desperation is more psychologically trying.
November 9, 2020 | Rating: 7/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
War of the Worlds pulses with excitement, danger and palpable nervous energy that generates a legitimate and lasting awe.
September 11, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)
Spielberg always delivers a quality product and teaming him with Cruise results in a well done, modern rendition of this classic story.
May 17, 2020 | Rating: 4.5/5
Allison Rose
FlickDirect
While the Wells story is a classic, Spielberg manages to find a way to truly make War of the Worlds his own.
May 13, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Danielle Solzman
Solzy at the Movies…
Plot
An ordinary man has to protect his children against alien invaders in this science fiction action film freely adapted from the classic story by H.G. Wells. Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) is a dockworker living in New Jersey, divorced from his first wife Mary Ann (Miranda Otto) and estranged from his two children Rachel and Robbie (Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin), of whom he has custody on weekends. On one such visitation, looking after the kids becomes a little more difficult when, after a series of strange lighting storms hit his neighborhood, Ray discovers that a fleet of death-ray robotic spaceships have emerged nearby, part of the first wave of an all-out alien invasion of the Earth. Transporting his children from New York to Boston in an attempt to find safety at Mary Ann’s parents’ house, Ray must learn to become the protector and provider he never was in marriage.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Tom Cruise stars as dockworker Ray Ferrier in War of the Worlds.
Steven-Spielberg.jpg
