Beetlejuice (1988)
83%RT Audience Score: 82%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
7 wins & 11 nominations total
Brilliantly bizarre and overflowing with ideas, Beetlejuice offers some of Michael Keaton’s most deliciously manic work – and creepy, funny fun for the whole family
Beetlejuice” is the kind of movie that makes you want to dance with the dead. With its wild imagination and hilarious comedy, it’s no wonder why Michael Keaton’s performance as the titular character is still iconic to this day. Sure, the story may be a bit all over the place, but who cares when you have undead football teams and Sylvia Sidney as a coach? Tim Burton’s off-the-wall audacity is on full display here, and it’s a ride that’s worth taking. Just don’t say “Beetlejuice” three times in a row, unless you want to be haunted by the ghost with the most.
Production Company(ies)
Horizon Pictures,
Distributor
Warner Bros. Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
East Corinth, Vermont, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1988
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Dolby Stereo Dolby Atmos Dolby Digital
-
Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
-
Runtime:1h 32m
-
Language(s):English
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Mar 30, 1988 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Genre(s)
Comedy/Fantasy
Keyword(s)
starring Michael Keaton, Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O’Hara, Winona Ryder, directed by Tim Burton, written by Warren Skaaren, Michael McDowell, produced by Michael Bender, Richard Hashimoto, Larry Wilson, comedy, fantasy, PG rating, box office gross $73.5M, reviewed by Steve Rose, David Ansen, Jay Boyar, Gene Siskel, Ian Freer, Bill Chambers, Michael Massie, Kristy Strouse, Allison Rose, Ángel Luis Inurria, Michael Keaton as Betelgeuse (Beetlejuice), Alec Baldwin as Adam Maitland, Geena Davis as Barbara Maitland, Jeffrey Jones as Charles Deitz, Catherine O’Hara as Delia, Winona Ryder as Lydia Deitz
Worldwide gross: $74,714,298
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $191,301,575
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 724
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 20,861,677
US/Canada gross: $74,664,632
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $191,174,408
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 375
US/Canada opening weekend: $8,030,897
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $20,562,640
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 642
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $15,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $38,406,620
Production budget ranking: 988
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $20,681,965
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $132,212,990
ROI to date (est.): 224%
ROI ranking: 584
Alec Baldwin – Adam Maitland
Geena Davis – Barbara Maitland
Jeffrey Jones – Charles Deitz
Catherine O’Hara – Delia
Winona Ryder – Lydia Deitz
Director(s)
Tim Burton
Writer(s)
Warren Skaaren, Michael McDowell
Producer(s)
Michael Bender, Richard Hashimoto, Larry Wilson
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
7 wins & 11 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Makeup Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (62) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (53) | Rotten (9)
The story almost comes off the rails, but Beetlejuice’s charm lies more in the execution. The movie is crammed with visual invention and snappy comedy.
October 25, 2018 | Rating: 5/5
Steve Rose
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
For sheer off-the-wall audacity, Tim Burton’s demented Beetlejuice certainly demands respect, even if it’s more enjoyable in concept than in execution.
April 5, 2018
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
The movie’s such a riot of invention we let him take it more or less anywhere.
March 30, 2018
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Betelgeuse doesn’t fully emerge until the film is half over, but Michael Keaton makes a strong enough impression in the role to explain why the picture is named after his character.
March 30, 2018
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
An overly ambitious special-effects comedy obviously influenced by the success of Ghostbusters.
March 30, 2018 | Rating: 2/4
Gene Siskel
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
Amazingly, it all still feels fresh, even though Burton has since become something of his own franchise since.
March 29, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
Ian Freer
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Beetle Juice is founded on…absurd juxtapositions–none funnier, if you ask me, than when an undead football team calls the ancient, gravel-voiced Sylvia Sidney “coach.”
March 3, 2022 | Rating: 2.5/4
Bill Chambers
Film Freak Central
An exciting, hilarious, extremely outlandish, oftentimes touching, otherworldly adventure that is utterly unlike anything else.
January 2, 2022 | Rating: 9/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Outlandish, but rich with imagination, Beetlejuice is likely to charm the life out of anyone with its lively display and ghoulish delights.
October 14, 2021
Kristy Strouse
Wonderfully Weird and Horrifying
“Beetlejuice” is so exuberantly batty, so outrageously zany, it makes “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” seem as somber as “Ironweed.”
October 26, 2020
Joe Leydon
The Moving Picture Show
Keaton shines in this role, breathing life (pun intended) into an immature and manipulative ghost.
September 1, 2020 | Rating: 4.5/5
Allison Rose
FlickDirect
Beetlejuice only manages to entertain from time to time, but it keeps us interested in the future projects of such a peculiar filmmaker. [Full Review in Spanish]
March 30, 2020
Ángel Luis Inurria
El Pais (Spain)…
Plot
Adam and Barbara are a normal couple…who happen to be dead. They have given their precious time to decorate their house and make it their own, but unfortunately a family is moving in, and not quietly. Adam and Barbara try to scare them out, but end up becoming the main attraction to the money making family. They call upon Beetlejuice to help, but Beetlejuice has more in mind than just helping.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels praises Michael Keaton’s “deliciously manic work” in Beetlejuice.
Tim-Burton.jpg
