Bubba Ho-Tep (2003)
82%RT Audience Score: 76%
Awards & Nominations: 7 wins & 10 nominations
The best movie to star both the King and JFK
Bubba Ho-Tep is a wild ride that will have you laughing, cringing, and maybe even shedding a tear. Bruce Campbell’s portrayal of Elvis is both hilarious and heartwarming, and the bizarre premise of the film will keep you hooked until the very end. Sure, it’s not your typical horror movie, but who wants typical anyway? Don Coscarelli’s unique vision and Campbell’s performance make Bubba Ho-Tep a must-see for anyone looking for something a little different. Plus, where else are you going to see a mummy fight an elderly Elvis and JFK?
Production Company(ies)
Final Cut for Real Sun Creature Studio Vivement Lundi
Distributor
Vitagraph Films, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., Silver Sphere Corp.
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Downey, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language, some sexual content and brief violent images
Year of Release
2003
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 32m
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Language(s):English, German
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 9, 2002 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 7, 2007
Genre(s)
Comedy/Horror
Keyword(s)
starring Bruce Campbell, Ossie Davis, Bob Ivy, Reggie Bannister, Larry Pennell, Heidi Marnhout, directed by Don Coscarelli, written by Don Coscarelli, Jason R Savage, comedy, horror, box office performance, budget, reviewed by David Ansen, Todd McCarthy, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Peter Travers, Nigel Floyd, Jamie Russell, Austin Trunick, Jeff Beck, Felix Vasquez Jr., Joe Lozito, Rob Gonsalves, produced by Don Coscarelli, Jason R Savage, R MPAA rating, Elvis Presley, JFK, nursing home, East Texas, African-American senior, residents, retirement community, Bubba Ho-Tep, Egyptian mummy, murderous intentions, brief violent images, some sexual content, language, Vitagraph Films, MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., Silver Sphere Corp
Worldwide gross: $1,239,183
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $2,008,557
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,418
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 219,036
US/Canada gross: $1,239,183
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $2,008,557
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,034
US/Canada opening weekend: $35,636
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $57,761
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,145
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $1,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $1,620,872
Production budget ranking: 2,049
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $872,839
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$485,154
ROI to date (est.): -19%
ROI ranking: 1,496
Ossie Davis – Jack Kennedy
Bob Ivy – Bubba Ho-tep
Reggie Bannister – Rest Home Administrator
Larry Pennell – Kemosabe
Heidi Marnhout – Callie
Director(s)
Don Coscarelli
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
Don Coscarelli, Jason R. Savage
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
7 wins & 10 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (104) | Top Critics (32) | Fresh (82) | Rotten (22)
Hilarious, a little scary and strangely poignant. Campbell’s cranky, valiant, sad-sack King is a soulfully funny creation.
March 12, 2018
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
A mismatched marriage of offbeat character study and unimaginative horror riffs.
September 24, 2007
Todd McCarthy
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Writer-director Don Coscarelli piles on unpleasant details and cynical asides as if they were the stuff of wisdom, though they seem intended to produce guffaws rather than thoughts
September 24, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
This absurdly clever caper is elevated by Bruce Campbell’s pensive Elvis into a moving meditation on the diminutions of age and the vagaries of fame.
August 14, 2007 | Rating: 3/4
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
TOP CRITIC
There’s plenty of scatological humour and knockabout fun to get one through the slower passages.
February 9, 2006
Nigel Floyd
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
A fiendishly funny comedy horror.
October 6, 2004 | Rating: 4/5
Jamie Russell
BBC.com
TOP CRITIC
This is a bizarre film that absolutely lives up to its insane premise … Bruce Campbell turns in one of his most muted performances while playing Elvis Presley – it’s a testament to his range.
February 28, 2017
Austin Trunick
Under the Radar
Despite having a fascinating set-up and an excellent turn from Bruce Campbell, Bubba Ho-Tep becomes a missed opportunity due to director/writer Don Coscarelli’s inability to take advantage of the bizarre premise.
November 7, 2016 | Rating: 2.5/5
Jeff Beck
The Blu Spot
A lot less a horror film, and much more of a film about the horrors of getting old.
April 29, 2009
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
December 27, 2007 | Rating: 3/4
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
Don Coscarelli still doesn’t know how to make cookie-cutter genre films. Let’s hope he never learns how.
August 11, 2007 | Rating: 5/5
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com
Elvis is in a geriatric care centre with JFK (who’s black) and he’s got to kick some ancient Mummy ass. What else is there to say?
June 21, 2007 | Rating: B
Jason Gorber
Film Scouts…
Plot
Based on the Bram Stoker Award nominee short story by cult author Joe R. Lansdale, Bubba Ho-tep tells the “true” story of what really did become of Elvis Presley. We find Elvis (Bruce Campbell) as an elderly resident in an East Texas rest home, who switched identities with an Elvis impersonator years before his “death”, then missed his chance to switch back. Elvis teams up with Jack (Ossie Davis), a fellow nursing home resident who thinks that he is actually President John F. Kennedy, and the two valiant old codgers sally forth to battle an evil Egyptian entity who has chosen their long-term care facility as his happy hunting grounds.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Bruce Campbell delivers a “soulfully funny” performance as an aged Elvis Presley in Bubba Ho-Tep.
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