Sixteen Candles (1984)
88%RT Audience Score: 85%
Awards & Nominations: 2 wins & 1 nomination
Significantly more mature than the teen raunch comedies that defined the era, Sixteen Candles is shot with compassion and clear respect for its characters and their hang-ups
Sixteen Candles is a classic coming-of-age film that will make you laugh, cringe, and reminisce about your own high school experiences. While some of the characters may come off as caricatures, Molly Ringwald’s natural and appealing performance as the lead will keep you rooting for her throughout the film. And let’s not forget about Michael Schoeffling’s swoon-worthy portrayal of the high school heartbreak kid. With a solid music track and quick humor, Sixteen Candles is a must-watch for anyone who wants to relive the awkwardness and hilarity of adolescence.
Production Company(ies)
Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures,
Distributor
MCA/Universal Pictures [us], Universal Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
3022 Payne Street, Evanston, Illinois, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1984
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Mono
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 30m
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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): May 4, 1984 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Michael Schoeffling, Paul Dooley, Justin Henry, Gedde Watanabe, directed by John Hughes, written by John Hughes, comedy, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Neil Jillett, Kevin Maher, Variety Staff, Dave Kehr, Derek Adams, Roger Ebert, Kathy Fennessy, Mike Massie, Felix Vasquez Jr., Gena Radcliffe, Jennifer Lind-Westbrook, PG, coming-of-age, soundtrack, ensemble cast, character study, 1980s, teen movie, high school, crush, romance, birthday, family, wedding, angst, popular, nerdy, love interest, racial insensitivity, Stray Cats, Long Duk Dong, Farmer Ted, Jim Baker, Mike Baker, The Geek, Chastity, American Pie, Republican convention, gross jokes, compassion, respect, hang-ups, maturation, adolescence, awkwardness, self-esteem, misadventures, grounded, effective, thematic depth, histrionics, theatrical, overblown, unevenly developed, ensemble character piece, expository depth, chemistry, human aspects, maturity, thoughtful, snappy dialogue, clever humor, comic set piece, coming-of-age classic, debut, legend of the genre
Worldwide gross: $23,686,027
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $69,360,468
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,196
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 7,563,846
US/Canada gross: $23,686,027
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $69,360,468
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 923
US/Canada opening weekend: $4,461,520
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $13,064,796
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 855
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $6,500,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $19,034,135
Production budget ranking: 1,388
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $10,249,882
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $40,076,451
ROI to date (est.): 137%
ROI ranking: 805
Anthony Michael Hall – Farmer Ted, ‘The Geek’
Michael Schoeffling – Jake Ryan
Paul Dooley – Jim Baker
Justin Henry – Mike Baker
Gedde Watanabe – Long Duk Dong
Director(s)
John Hughes
Writer(s)
John Hughes
Producer(s)
Hilton A. Green
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
2 wins & 1 nomination
Academy Awards
All Critics (43) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (35) | Rotten (8)
Its Middle American cast of plastic females and self-regarding males look and behave like delegates to a Republican convention. The slight plot is strung out on a series of gross jokes.
May 3, 2022
Neil Jillett
The Age (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
Watch with compassion.
July 22, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
There’s also a darkly handsome high school heartbreak kid (Michael Schoeffling), a merciful brisk pace, some quick humor (visual and verbal), and a solid music track.
July 18, 2007
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
As the girl, Molly Ringwald is natural and appealing, but she’s lost in a world of blunt, vicious caricatures.
July 18, 2007
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Sly humour and an appreciative ear for the demotic improv of teenage chat completes an attractive package.
June 24, 2006
Derek Adams
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
A sweet and funny movie about two of the worst things that can happen to a girl on her sixteenth birthday.
October 23, 2004 | Rating: 3/4
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
TOP CRITIC
Sixteen Candles is a genuinely funny film with plenty of throwaway gags that betray Hughes’ Lampoon origins.
October 26, 2020 | Rating: 3/4
Kathy Fennessy
Seattle Film Blog
At times it’s laugh-out-loud funny, highlighting the awkwardness of adolescence through alternations of clumsiness, low self-esteem, and misadventures of maturation.
September 7, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Meandering and kind of dull and doesn’t quite manage to be as sweet as its romantic final scene.
July 30, 2020
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
To try to explain Sixteen Candles as a person who was there for it in first run today is to helplessly shrug and say, ‘I don’t know, man, it was a different time.’
January 18, 2020
Gena Radcliffe
The Spool
Sixteen Candles is a genuinely funny and touching coming-of-age story.
July 4, 2019
Jennifer Lind-Westbrook
Culturess
High school is high school no matter what the date, and Hughes ensures that the constancies of that age remain unchanged.
May 5, 2014 | Rating: A-
Rob Vaux
Mania.com…
Plot
Samantha’s life is going downhill fast. The sixteen-year-old has a crush on the most popular boy in school, and the geekiest boy in school has a crush on her. Her sister’s getting married, and with all the excitement the rest of her family forgets her birthday! Add all this to a pair of horrendously embarrassing grandparents, a foreign exchange student named Long Duk Dong, and we have the makings of a hilarious journey into young womanhood.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film Sixteen Candles on Fresh Kernels.
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