Airplane! (1980)
92%RT Audience Score: 89%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
3 wins & 7 nominations total
Though unabashedly juvenile and silly, Airplane! is nevertheless an uproarious spoof comedy full of quotable lines and slapstick gags that endure to this day.
Airplane! is the kind of movie that will have you laughing so hard, you might just forget to breathe. It’s a classic comedy that never takes itself too seriously, and that’s what makes it so great. From the ridiculous plot to the over-the-top performances, everything about this movie is designed to make you laugh. And let’s not forget about the iconic one-liners that have become a part of pop culture history. If you haven’t seen Airplane! yet, you’re missing out on one of the funniest movies of all time. Just make sure you don’t have any popcorn in your mouth when you watch it, or you might end up choking from laughter.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Los Angeles International Airport – 1 World Way, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1980
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 28m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jan 1, 1980 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 13, 2005
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
Airplane!, comedy, disaster movie, spoof, Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty, Peter Graves, Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, directed by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, written by Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker, produced by Jon Davison, Howard W Koch, box office performance, budget, PG rating, reviewed by Michael Blowen, Ron Pennington, Martin Chilton, Richard Schickel, Kathleen Carroll, Adam Smith, Kenneth Turan, Mike Massie, Bryan Reesman, Richard Propes, Matt Brunson, audience score, critic consensus, slapstick gags, quotable lines, movie parodies, puns, non sequiturs, Mad magazine, food poisoning, rogue pilot, stewardess, safe landing, Paramount Pictures, mono sound mix, flat aspect ratio
Worldwide gross: $83,453,539
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $313,646,699
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 481
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 34,203,566
US/Canada gross: $83,453,539
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $3,500,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $13,154,187
Production budget ranking: 1,560
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $7,083,530
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $293,408,983
ROI to date (est.): 1,450%
ROI ranking: 70
Julie Hagerty – Elaine Dickinson
Peter Graves – Captain Clarence Oveur
Robert Stack – Captain Rex Kramer
Lloyd Bridges – Steve McCroskey
Kareem Abdul-Jabaar – Roger Murdoch
Director(s)
Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker
Writer(s)
Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker
Producer(s)
Jon Davison, Howard W. Koch
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
3 wins & 7 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (70) | Top Critics (18) | Fresh (68) | Rotten (2)
The popcorn will probably stick with you longer than this silly saga but, if you need a few belly laughs, get a boarding pass. Airplane is the ultimate take-off.
April 28, 2018
Michael Blowen
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
The level of humor is not always consistent, but the filmmakers have thrown almost everything in with a shotgun approach and the routines work more often than not.
July 3, 2017
Ron Pennington
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
The really great thing about Airplane! is that the jokes undercut your expectations so deftly.
June 8, 2015 | Rating: 5/5
Martin Chilton
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Airplane! is a splendidly tacky, totally tasteless, completely insignificant flight, a gooney bird of a movie that looks as if it could never get off the ground and then surprises and delights with its free-spirited aerobatics.
June 8, 2015
Richard Schickel
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker, who share both writing and directorial credits, become so desperate for laughs that the jokes descend to a much cruder level.
April 7, 2015 | Rating: 2/4
Kathleen Carroll
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
Surely as good as modern comedy gets?…and don’t call me Shirley.
April 1, 2008 | Rating: 5/5
Adam Smith
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
It is very funny in a very silly kind of way and that people who intend to see it should do so as soon as possible. For this is a movie whose charm comes totally from the unexpected, off-the-wall nature of its jokes.
November 4, 2021
Kenneth Turan
New West/California
Part of what makes this all so effective is how straight the actors play their parts; in the face of unending fatuousness, the cast remains earnestly aboveboard.
June 28, 2021 | Rating: 8/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
It reminds us of the importance of pushing boundaries at the same time that it gives us a playbook for doing so in a good-natured rather than vicious or belittling way.
April 26, 2021
Bryan Reesman
NBC News THINK
The cast is nearly perfect.
September 1, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
With its endless succession of movie parodies, puns and non sequiturs, it’s the closest that cinema has ever seen to a live-action interpretation of Mad magazine.
August 5, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
Hays and Hagerty had great chemistry that made their story believable.
July 27, 2020 | Rating: 4.5/5
Allison Rose
FlickDirect…
Plot
Drowning his sorrows after that botched mission during WWII, the traumatised former fighter pilot with a fear of flying, Ted Striker, still hasn’t got over his old flame and flight attendant, Elaine Dickinson. Determined to win her back, Ted boards a domestic flight from Los Angeles to Chicago, only to come face-to-face with a severe case of in-flight food poisoning that is threatening everyone’s lives. Now, with most of the passengers and the entire cockpit crew down with the food-borne illness, Striker has no other choice but to confront his inner demons and take over the control of the ungovernable aircraft with the help of a gruff air-traffic controller and his former commander. Can Ted land the plane and save them all?
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who plays co-pilot Roger Murdock, had to shave his trademark skyhook hairstyle for the role.
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