Days of Thunder (1990)
61%RT Audience Score: 60%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
1 win & 2 nominations total
Days of Thunder has Tom Cruise and plenty of flash going for it, but they aren’t enough to compensate for the stock plot, two-dimensional characters, and poorly written dialogue
Days of Thunder is like a race car that looks great on the outside but is pretty empty on the inside. Critics have called it hollow, thrill-less, and misogynistic, but let’s be real, we’re all just here to see Tom Cruise look pretty and Nicole Kidman be a badass. The action scenes are cool if you’re into that sort of thing, but don’t expect any groundbreaking storytelling or character development. It’s a fun popcorn flick to watch on a lazy Sunday afternoon, but don’t expect it to change your life.
Production Company(ies)
Twentieth Century Fox,
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Charlotte, North Carolina, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG-13
Year of Release
1990
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 47m
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Language(s):English, French
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 27, 1990 Original
Release Date (Streaming): May 25, 1999
Genre(s)
Action
Keyword(s)
starring Tom Cruise, Michael Rooker, Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid, Cary Elwes, directed by Tony Scott, written by Robert Towne, Tom Cruise, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, Don Simpson, action, NASCAR, PG-13, box office, budget, reviewed by Tim Robey, Clayton Dillard, Terrence Rafferty, Dave Kehr, Sheila Benson, Carrie Rickey, Bill Chambers, Matt Brunson, Otis Stuart, Allison Rose, Richard Kuipers, James Kendrick, Top Gun, stock car racing, rivalry, friendship, romance, neurosurgeon, Daytona 500, underhanded newcomer, veteran racer, injured, two-dimensional characters, poorly written dialogue, critic reviews, audience score, Tomatometer, streaming, theaters, DVD, Blu-ray, soundtrack, Robert Towne, Jerry Bruckheimer, Don Simpson, Tony Scott, Tom Cruise, Michael Rooker, Nicole Kidman, Robert Duvall, Randy Quaid, Cary Elwes
Worldwide gross: $157,920,733
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $364,068,779
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 418
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 39,702,157
US/Canada gross: $82,670,733
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $190,588,229
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 379
US/Canada opening weekend: $15,490,445
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $35,711,507
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 366
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $60,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $138,323,362
Production budget ranking: 249
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $74,487,130
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $151,258,286
ROI to date (est.): 71%
ROI ranking: 1,060
Robert Duvall – Harry Hogge
Nicole Kidman – Dr. Claire Lewicki
Randy Quaid – Tim Daland
Michael Rooker – Rowdy Burns
Cary Elwes – Russ Wheeler
Director – Tony Scott
Producers – Jerry Bruckheimer, Don Simpson
Writers – Robert Towne, Tom Cruise
Director(s)
Tony Scott
Writer(s)
Robert Towne, Tom Cruise
Producer(s)
Jerry Bruckheimer, Don Simpson
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
1 win & 2 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (66) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (25) | Rotten (41)
The most daring thing about his cat-and-mouse game with Kidman is how erotic Noyce makes it.
October 24, 2018
Tim Robey
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Dispensing with all notions that Days of Thunder is a critical work of any sort reveals its hollow and misogynistic underpinnings.
June 25, 2015
Clayton Dillard
Slant Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Like the previous Simpson-Bruckheimer pictures, it’s designed to give audiences an overdose of the thrill of victory; it wants us to jump out of our seats, pumping our fists in the air and roaring for the hero to pulverize his opponents.
May 20, 2014
Terrence Rafferty
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
This is the kind of monstrously overgrown commercial movie that depends entirely on the microscopic pleasures of having one`s most routine expectations fulfilled.
May 20, 2014 | Rating: 2/4
Dave Kehr
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
Whoosh!! Days of Thunder just streaked in, fast as a race-car paint job and about as flat.
May 20, 2014
Sheila Benson
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
Not only does Days of Thunder disappoint on the basic narrative level, it is also a peculiarly thrill-less action movie. Shot from the driver’s point of view, the race sequences lose their novelty as swiftly as a video game.
May 20, 2014 | Rating: 2/4
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
There is some interest to be mined from Days of Thunder as an auteur piece–the auteur being Cruise, not Scott.
March 3, 2022 | Rating: 2/4
Bill Chambers
Film Freak Central
A vanity piece for Tom Cruise, who makes sure that he looks even prettier than co-star Nicole Kidman.
May 23, 2020 | Rating: 1.5/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
The most awesome technical feat of Days of Thunder’s massive gadgetry is Cruise in close-up.
May 20, 2020
Otis Stuart
OutWeek
For race car enthusiasts, Days of Thunder is a treat with great action scenes.
May 18, 2020 | Rating: 3/5
Allison Rose
FlickDirect
The only historically noteworthy thing about this big, dumb testosterone fantasy is the first screen teaming of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.
October 24, 2018
Richard Kuipers
Urban Cinefile
[It] was not so much about innovation and originality as it was about recycling the same themes about the glories of victory and the triumph of professionalism, which Days of Thunder produces in droves, but without any real impact.
October 24, 2018 | Rating: 2/4
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk…
Plot
Cole Trickle enters the high-pressure world of Nascar racing. He’s a hot driver with a hot temper, and this attitude gets him into trouble not only with other drivers, but members of his own team as well.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film in the Fresh Kernels summary.
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