Bottle Rocket (1996)
83%RT Audience Score:
Awards & Nominations: 2 wins & 1 nomination
Bottle Rocket is Reservoir Dogs meets Breathless with a West Texas sensibility
Bottle Rocket is a hilarious and quirky film that follows the misadventures of a group of friends who are trying to make it big in the world of crime. The performances are top-notch, and the deadpan humor is spot-on. It’s a refreshing change of pace from the usual Hollywood fare, and it’s easy to see why it has become a cult classic. If you’re looking for a fun and entertaining movie that will keep you laughing from start to finish, then Bottle Rocket is definitely worth checking out.
Production Company(ies)
C J Entertainment, Moho Film Yong Film
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Hinckley Cold Storage – 4008 Commerce Street, Dallas, Texas, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for language
Year of Release
1996
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby SR SDDS
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 31m
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Language(s):English, Spanish
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Feb 21, 1996 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 25, 2008
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
Bottle Rocket, Comedy, Wes Anderson, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Robert Musgrave, James Caan, Polly Platt, Cynthia Hargrave, R, Crime, West Texas, Mental Hospital, Outrageous Crime Spree, Road Trip, Mr Henry, Columbia Pictures, $488.6K, Surround, Dolby SR, Reviewed by David Hunter, Kenneth Turan, Bruce Diones, David Hinckley, Steven Rea, Michael Wilmington, Michael Atkinson, D Patrick Rodgers, Brian Gibson, David Sterritt, Peter Keough, Reservoir Dogs, Breathless, Deadpan Sensibility, Box Office Performance, Budget, MPAA Rating, Comedy, Crime, Friendship, Adrenaline, Male Self-Delusion, Cult-Intensive Pockets of Fandom
Worldwide gross: $560,069
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,069,029
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,589
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 116,579
US/Canada gross: $560,069
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,069,029
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,171
US/Canada opening weekend: $124,118
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $236,910
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,606
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $7,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $13,361,219
Production budget ranking: 1,550
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $7,195,016
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$19,487,206
ROI to date (est.): -95%
ROI ranking: 1,993
Luke Wilson – Anthony Adams
Robert Musgrave – Bob Mapplethorpe
Andrew Wilson – John Mapplethorpe (Future Man)
Lumi Cavazos – Inez
James Caan – Abe Henry (Mr. Henry)
Director(s)
Wes Anderson
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
Polly Platt, Cynthia Hargrave
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
2 wins & 1 nomination
Academy Awards
All Critics (67) | Top Critics (24) | Fresh (57) | Rotten (10)
The performers look like they’re having a lot of fun, but there is a great deal of skill on display.
February 21, 2018
David Hunter
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
A confident, eccentric debut about a trio of shambling and guileless friends who become the Candides of crime, Rocket feels particularly refreshing because it never compromises on its delicate deadpan sensibility.
March 4, 2014
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
[Bottle Rocket] meanders pleasantly, like a road movie, with a seventies-style, anything-goes offhandedness that whisks the audience through the rough spots.
March 4, 2014
Bruce Diones
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
Bottle Rocket was conceived as a low-budget family affair — it has more Wilsons than the Beach Boys — and outside of a few cult-intensive pockets of fandom, that’s where it’s likely to end up.
March 4, 2014 | Rating: 1.5/4
David Hinckley
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
This is a movie about friendship, about foolhardy endeavors that get your adrenaline going and make you feel life buzzing in your toes. Written with wit and concision and remarkable confidence, Bottle Rocket is a joyride worth taking.
March 4, 2014 | Rating: 3.5/4
Steven Rea
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
Bottle Rocket is a beguiling surprise, a terrific little movie comedy about a slightly addled gang of young criminal wannabes.
March 4, 2014 | Rating: 3/4
Michael Wilmington
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
Owen Wilson, with his buzz-blond do, smiling mug, and self-realizing spiel, is truly one of a kind.
April 19, 2022
Michael Atkinson
Spin
Though 1996’s Bottle Rocket was a commercial flop, it was a remarkably special feature-length debut that introduced the world to the writer-director’s idiosyncratic style.
September 13, 2021
D. Patrick Rodgers
Nashville Scene
It’s only in the finale of Bottle Rocket, brimming over with poignant male self-delusion, that the flair and sizzle of Anderson’s future promise returns.
July 2, 2014
Brian Gibson
Vue Weekly (Edmonton, Alberta)
This deliciously offbeat comedy gets much of its oomph from a loopy screenplay and lead performances that can only be called hilariously bland, or is it blandly hilarious?
March 4, 2014 | Rating: 3/4
David Sterritt
Christian Science Monitor
Like the cheap pyrotechnic of the title, Bottle Rocket neither goes very far nor ends with a bang, and that’s part of its charm, originality and delight.
March 4, 2014
Peter Keough
Boston Phoenix
Anderson’s debut film is a small-scale delight.
March 4, 2014
Jon Fortgang
Film4…
Plot
Upon his release from a mental hospital following a nervous breakdown, the directionless Anthony joins his friend Dignan, who seems far less sane than the former. Dignan has hatched a hare-brained scheme for an as-yet-unspecified crime spree that somehow involves his former boss, the (supposedly) legendary Mr. Henry. With the help of their pathetic neighbor and pal Bob, Anthony and Dignan pull a job and hit the road, where Anthony finds love with motel maid Inez. When our boys finally hook up with Mr. Henry, the ensuing escapade turns out to be far from what anyone expected.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features the Wilson brothers, Owen and Luke, in their first major roles.
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