Grease (1978)
78%RT Audience Score:
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
4 wins & 10 nominations total
Grease is a pleasing, energetic musical with infectiously catchy songs and an ode to young love that never gets old
Grease is the ultimate high school musical that will have you singing and dancing along in no time. Sure, the plot may be a bit generic, but who cares when you have iconic characters like Danny and Sandy, and a soundtrack that will have you belting out “Summer Nights” and “Greased Lightning” for days. It’s a shamelessly superficial film that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that’s what makes it so much fun. So, grab your leather jacket and get ready to hand jive, baby!
Production Company(ies)
Shangri-La Entertainment, Tuff Gong Pictures, Cowboy Films,
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Huntington Park High School – 6020 Miles Avenue, Huntington Park, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1978
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby (35 mm prints, original release)70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints, original release)
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 50m
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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): Jul 7, 1978 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 24, 2002
Genre(s)
Musical/Romance
Keyword(s)
starring John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway, Didi Conn, Eve Arden, directed by Randal Kleiser, written by Jim Jacobs, Warren Casey, Allan Carr, Bronte Woodard, musical, romance, PG, box office gross, Allan Carr, Robert Stigwood, reviewed by Jake Wilson, Peter Bradshaw, Philip Wuntch, Douglas Watt, Judith Martin, Stanley Kauffmann, Rachel Wagner, Jill Nicholls, Matt Brunson, Richard Propes, Mike Massie, Leigh Paatsch, 1950s, high school, singing, dancing, summer romance, clique lines, Paramount Pictures, stereo, Dolby Stereo, surround
Worldwide gross: $396,271,103
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,941,146,925
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 21
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 211,684,507
US/Canada gross: $190,071,103
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $931,069,498
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 15
US/Canada opening weekend: $8,941,717
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $43,801,292
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 276
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $6,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $29,391,196
Production budget ranking: 1,166
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $15,827,159
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $1,895,928,570
ROI to date (est.): 4,193%
ROI ranking: 26
Olivia Newton-John – Sandy Olsen
Stockard Channing – Rizzo
Jeff Conaway – Kenickie
Didi Conn – Frenchy
Eve Arden – Principal McGee
Director(s)
Randal Kleiser
Writer(s)
Jim Jacobs, Warren Casey, Allan Carr, Bronte Woodard
Producer(s)
Allan Carr, Robert Stigwood
Film Festivals
Venice
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
4 wins & 10 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (75) | Top Critics (25) | Fresh (57) | Rotten (18)
Randall Kleiser’s 1978 spoof of ’50s iconography [is] so consciously cheesy from the outset that it hardly seems dated today.
September 14, 2018
Jake Wilson
The Age (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
A sugar-rush of a film.
April 18, 2018 | Rating: 5/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
Grease has energy and a total commitment to pleasing its audience.
March 5, 2018
Philip Wuntch
Dallas Morning News
TOP CRITIC
It’s a winner.
February 9, 2018
Douglas Watt
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
Couldn’t the makers of “Grease” have unearthed one person who was alive in that time, perhaps even one who attended an American high school then, and checked their information?
May 7, 2017
Judith Martin
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
It has no kind of focus in atmosphere or tone, it doesn’t even have a look. It’s just sort of floating insult, shopping for a subject to light on.
June 16, 2016
Stanley Kauffmann
The New Republic
TOP CRITIC
Edgier than given credit for with some great bops
June 20, 2022
Rachel Wagner
Rachel’s Reviews (YouTube)
Grease is like a co-ed St Trinians — giggly overgrown highschool kids dancing and romping. The fifties nostalgia is a joke, a gimmick; the whole thing is shamelessly superficial.
September 22, 2021
Jill Nicholls
Spare Rib
What can I say? In the immortal words belted out by Sha-Na-Na, I guess I was born to hand jive, baby.
August 29, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
If you’re looking for deep, meaningful music and a film that exudes character development and strong plot then I’d suggest you look elsewhere.
September 9, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
It’s a shining example of the pieces outdoing the whole – the set designs, characters, and unforgettable soundtrack are each more impressive than the simple, generic plot.
August 30, 2020 | Rating: 7/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
This irresistible kitsch classic immediately has you forgiving all of its obvious flaws, including the tacking acting, silly songs and delirious dancing.
September 27, 2018 | Rating: 4/5
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)…
Plot
A musical about teens in love in the 1950s. It’s California 1958 and greaser Danny Zuko (John Travolta) and Australian Sandy Olsson (Olivia Newton-John) are in love. They spend time at the beach, and when they go back to school, what neither of them knows is that they both now attend Rydell High. Danny’s the leader of the T-Birds, a group of black leather jacket-wearing greasers while Sandy hangs with the Pink Ladies, a group of pink-wearing girls led by Rizzo (Stockard Channing). When they clash at Rydell’s first pep rally, Danny isn’t the same Danny from the beach. They try to be like each other so they can be together.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found in the Fresh Kernels database for Grease.
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