Big Trouble in Little China (1986)
83%RT Audience Score: 82%
Awards & Nominations: 1 win & 1 nomination
Brimming with energy and packed with humor, Big Trouble in Little China distills kung fu B-movies as affectionately as it subverts them
Big Trouble in Little China” is a wild ride that’s part action, part comedy, and all fun. Kurt Russell’s bulging biceps and easy-going self-confidence are a highlight, but the real star of the show is the chaotic and inventive plot that careens through an imaginary world for two hours. Sure, it’s not always convincing and the tension is minimal, but who cares when you’re having this much of a good time? John Carpenter has created a campy, convoluted series of outrageous adventures that’s perfect for anyone in the mood for a good, goofy time. So grab some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy the ride!
Production Company(ies)
New Line Cinema, Zupnik Cinema Group II GGR
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
San Francisco, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG-13
Year of Release
1986
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:1h 38m
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Language(s):English, Cantonese
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 30, 1986 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 27, 2002
Genre(s)
Action/Fantasy
Keyword(s)
starring Kurt Russell, Kim Cattrall, Dennis Dun, James Hong, Victor Wong, Kate Burton, directed by John Carpenter, written by Gary Goldman, David Weinstein, W.D Richter, action, fantasy, PG-13, Larry J Franco produced, $11.0M box office, reviewed by James Berardinelli, Paul Byrnes, Eleanor Ringel Cater, Kathleen Carroll, Jay Boyar, Michael H Price, Eddie Harrison, Michael Sragow, Hal Lipper, Patrick Taggart, George Williams, Magnetic Stereo 6 Track, Mono, Surround, Dolby A, Dolby Stereo, 70mm, Scope (2.35:1) aspect ratio
Worldwide gross: $11,100,577
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $30,756,238
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,542
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 3,354,006
US/Canada gross: $11,100,000
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $30,754,639
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,266
US/Canada opening weekend: $2,723,211
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $7,545,169
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,030
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $25,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $69,267,206
Production budget ranking: 605
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $37,300,390
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$75,811,358
ROI to date (est.): -71%
ROI ranking: 1,814
Kim Cattrall – Gracie Law
Dennis Dun – Wang Chi
James Hong – David Lo Pan
Victor Wong – Egg Shen
Kate Burton – Margo
Director(s)
John Carpenter
Writer(s)
Gary Goldman, David Weinstein, W.D. Richter
Producer(s)
Larry J. Franco
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
1 win & 1 nomination
Academy Awards
All Critics (63) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (47) | Rotten (16)
It’s sporadically amusing but not consistently funny. There’s plenty of action but minimal tension. And the story never tries hard to be even a little convincing.
August 16, 2021 | Rating: 2/4
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
TOP CRITIC
A rollicking, colourful comic strip of a movie with bells on.
June 29, 2021 | Rating: 2/4
Paul Byrnes
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
Carpenter and his lively cast seem to be having such a good time that the easiest thing to do is relax and enjoy the ride. In a way, this is the movie “Escape from New York” was trying to be but never quite managed to pull off.
June 29, 2021
Eleanor Ringel Cater
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TOP CRITIC
Watching Kurt Russell display not only a set of bulging biceps, but also… easy-going self-confidence is admittedly fun at times, even if the movie is as impenetrable as chop suey.
June 29, 2021 | Rating: 2/4
Kathleen Carroll
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
Big Trouble in Little China is a failure, but it’s a fascinating, atypical failure.
June 29, 2021 | Rating: 3/5
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
The result – suspense/action/comedy/kung fu/supernatural – defies categorization. Let’s just call it a rousing good movie and proceed
June 29, 2021 | Rating: 7/10
Michael H. Price
Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
TOP CRITIC
…Big Trouble in Little China rises to meet our elevated expectations; fast, chaotic and inventive, its yet another Carpenter film that really deserved more than it got from audiences at the time…
March 9, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Eddie Harrison
film-authority.com
“Big Trouble in Little China” turns into yet another failed remake of “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”
June 29, 2021 | Rating: 2/4
Michael Sragow
San Francisco Examiner
A campy, convoluted series of outrageous adventures that careens through an imaginary world for two hours before depositing you, breathless, back in your seat.
June 29, 2021 | Rating: 3/5
Hal Lipper
Tampa Bay Times
If you’re in the right mood for this sort of thing, John Carpenter’s new movie presents as fine an opportunity as any this summer to have a good, goofy time.
June 29, 2021
Patrick Taggart
Austin American-Statesman
When a circus is done right, you get caught up in its rhythm and lost in the fun of it. Carpenter has done it right.
June 29, 2021
George Williams
Sacramento Bee
For every genuine martial arts feat or gruesome monstrosity, there’s a sequence of riotous slapstick to counter the brief seriousness.
August 31, 2020 | Rating: 7/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins…
Plot
Truck driver Jack Burton arrives in Chinatown, San Francisco, and goes to the airport with his Chinese friend Wang Chi to welcome his green-eyed fiancée Miao Yin who is arriving from China. However she is kidnapped on the arrival by a Chinese street gang and Jack and Wang chase the group. Soon they learn that the powerful evil sorcerer called David Lo Pan, who has been cursed more than two thousand years ago to exist without physical body, needs to marry a woman with green eyes to retrieve his physical body and Miao is the chosen one. Jack and Wang team-up with the lawyer Gracie Law, the bus driver and sorcerer apprentice Egg Shen and their friends and embark in a great adventure in the underground of Chinatown, where they face a world of magicians and magic, monsters and martial arts fighters.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Kurt Russell delivers yet another great performance in Big Trouble in Little China.
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