Fatal Attraction (1987)
79%RT Audience Score: 72%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 6 Oscars
7 wins & 22 nominations total
A potboiler in the finest sense, Fatal Attraction is a sultry, juicy thriller that’s hard to look away from once it gets going
Fatal Attraction is the kind of movie that makes you want to lock your doors and never leave your house again. But let’s be real, who wouldn’t want to watch Glenn Close go full-on crazy and boil a bunny? It’s a classic ’80s thriller that still manages to hold up today, even if the depiction of mental health is a bit questionable. Plus, Michael Douglas and Anne Archer give great performances as the couple caught in the middle of Close’s madness. Overall, it’s a must-watch for anyone who loves a good suspenseful ride. Just maybe don’t watch it alone.
Production Company(ies)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer,
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
135 Mianus River Road, Bedford, New York, USA
MPAA / Certificate
R
Year of Release
1987
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Stereo
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 59m
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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): Sep 11, 1987 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2002
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
Fatal Attraction, Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Anne Archer, Adrian Lyne, James Dearden, Nicholas Meyer, Drama, R, Box Office, Paramount Pictures, Stanley R Jaffe, Sherry Lansing, Surround, Stereo, Reviewed by Jay Boyar, Richard Corliss, Janet Maslin, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Fresh Kernels, Bunny-boiling, Obsessive Stalking, Adultery, Potboiler, Sultry, Juicy, Thriller, Critics Consensus, Audience Score, Tomatometer, Streaming, Rent/Buy, Subscription, Sound Mix, Cast & Crew, Movie Info, Director, Producer, Writer, Distributor, Runtime, Original Language, Release Date, Genre, MPAA Rating, PartyCity, Super Mario, Birthday Décor, Tableware, Balloons, Favors, Party City
Worldwide gross: $320,145,693
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $854,544,047
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 128
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 93,189,100
US/Canada gross: $156,645,693
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $418,124,146
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 106
US/Canada opening weekend: $7,602,740
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $20,293,499
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 650
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $14,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $37,369,288
Production budget ranking: 1,007
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $20,123,362
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $797,051,397
ROI to date (est.): 1,386%
ROI ranking: 79
Glenn Close – Alex Forrest
Anne Archer – Beth Gallagher
Ellen Hamilton Latzen – Ellen Gallagher
Stuart Pankin – Jimmy
Ellen Foley – Hildy
Director(s)
Adrian Lyne
Writer(s)
James Dearden, Nicholas Meyer
Producer(s)
Stanley R. Jaffe, Sherry Lansing
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 6 Oscars
7 wins & 22 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (54) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (41) | Rotten (13)
Under the direction of Adrian Lyne, most of the picture’s situations seem like randomly chosen place holders, flat events that just fill time until the final bizarre confrontation.
June 12, 2013
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
[The film brings] horror home to a place where the grownup moviegoer actually lives.
February 11, 2008
Richard Corliss
TIME Magazine
TOP CRITIC
The screws are tightened expertly in this suspenseful meller about a flipped-out femme who makes life hell for the married man who scorns her.
February 11, 2008
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
While billed as a romance and a thriller, the film strictly qualifies as neither, appealing to our prurience, guilt, hatred, and dread.
February 11, 2008
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Years hence, it will be possible to pinpoint the exact moment that produced Fatal Attraction, Adrian Lyne’s new romantic thriller, and the precise circumstances that made it a hit.
May 20, 2003 | Rating: 4/5
Janet Maslin
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
Sure, Alex may be little more than a bunny-boiling stalker but Fatal Attraction is still notable for Close’s resilient, complex performance.
April 14, 2002 | Rating: 2.5/4
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Save for the horror-movie finale (which, despite being unforgettable, is something of a misstep), there’s nothing too overblown or exaggerated about this harrowing duel.
September 6, 2020 | Rating: 9/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Fatal Attraction may remain an influence on the genre but something could be said about the depiction of mental health in the film.
May 25, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/5
Danielle Solzman
Solzy at the Movies
There are so many reasons Fatal Attraction is such a great film but first and foremost is the cast.
April 28, 2020 | Rating: 4.5/5
Allison Rose
FlickDirect
…a justifiably iconic ’80s release that still holds up relatively all these years later.
April 25, 2020 | Rating: 3/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
Fatal Attraction is a shameless stew of sensationalist effects, destined to give the appearance of a movie to its absolute emptiness. [Full Review in Spanish]
April 22, 2020
Ángel Fernández-Santos
El Pais (Spain)
Until it goes berserk in the last reel or so, Fatal Attraction is an absorbing drama of civilized adultery that gets less civilized as it goes on to its inevitable conclusion.
November 5, 2019 | Rating: 2.5/4
Richard Freedman
Newhouse News Service…
Plot
Happily married New York lawyer Dan Gallagher has an affair with his colleague Alex, and the two enjoy a love weekend while Dan’s wife and kid are away. But Alex will not let go of him, and she will stop at nothing to have him for herself. Just how far will she go to get what she wants?
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Sorry, there is no mention of PartyCity or anything goofy, funny, or odd in the Fresh Kernels database for Fatal Attraction.
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