Super 8 (2011)
82%RT Audience Score: 75%
Awards & Nominations: 11 wins & 70 nominations
It may evoke memories of classic summer blockbusters a little too eagerly for some, but Super 8 has thrills, visual dazzle, and emotional depth to spare
Super 8 is the perfect blend of nostalgia and sci-fi action, with a heartwarming story that will make you feel like a kid again. Sure, it may be a bit formulaic, but who cares when you’re having this much fun? J.J. Abrams channels his inner Spielberg and delivers a summer blockbuster that’s both thrilling and charming. The young cast is fantastic, and the special effects are top-notch. So grab some popcorn, sit back, and enjoy the ride. Super 8 is a blast from start to finish!
Production Company(ies)
Excelsa Film
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Weirton, West Virginia, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, language and some drug use
Year of Release
2011
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital Dolby Surround 7.1
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 12.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 52m
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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): Jun 10, 2011 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 22, 2011
Genre(s)
Mystery & thriller/Sci-fi
Keyword(s)
Super 8, PG-13, Mystery & thriller, Sci-fi, 1h 52m, starring Kyle Chandler, Elle Fanning, Joel Courtney, Gabriel Basso, Ron Eldard, Noah Emmerich, directed by J.J Abrams, written by J.J Abrams, produced by Steven Spielberg, J.J Abrams, Bryan Burk, reviewed by Sara Reihani, Violet Lucca, Leah Rozen, Henry K Miller, David Sexton, Anthony Quinn, Mark Jackson, James Croot, Carey-Ann Pawsey, Matt Brunson, Danielle Solzman, box office gross $127.0M, budget unknown, MPAA rating PG-13, train derailment, zombie movie, unexplained events, disappearances, Deputy Jackson Lamb, Alice Dainard, Joe Lamb, Martin, Louis Dainard, Nelec
Worldwide gross: $260,095,986
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $342,415,813
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 445
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 37,340,874
US/Canada gross: $127,004,179
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $167,200,732
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 454
US/Canada opening weekend: $35,451,168
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $46,671,387
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 262
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $50,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $65,824,894
Production budget ranking: 633
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $35,446,705
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $241,144,214
ROI to date (est.): 238%
ROI ranking: 554
Elle Fanning – Alice Dainard
Joel Courtney – Joe Lamb
Gabriel Basso – Martin
Ron Eldard – Louis Dainard
Noah Emmerich – Nelec
Director – J.J. Abrams
Producers – Steven Spielberg, J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk
Writer – J.J. Abrams
Director(s)
J.J. Abrams
Writer(s)
J.J. Abrams
Producer(s)
Steven Spielberg, J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
11 wins & 70 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (296) | Top Critics (78) | Fresh (240) | Rotten (56)
It’s a by-the-numbers blockbuster, but one with a key element that’s missing from most of the big-budget bloatfests crowding each other for space on the marquee every summer: heart.
January 7, 2021
Sara Reihani
Bitch Media
TOP CRITIC
While it may not achieve the level of pop culture canonization as the Spielberg films it invokes, Super 8 should inspire many to use their camera-phones for something more creative than a profile pic.
June 28, 2013
Violet Lucca
Film Comment Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Super 8 is accomplished commercial filmmaking.
October 7, 2011
Leah Rozen
TheWrap
TOP CRITIC
A Spielberg pastiche of uncanny precision and sublime pointlessness.
August 9, 2011
Henry K. Miller
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
Super 8 is the most intensely Spielbergian film you’ll ever see that Steven Spielberg didn’t actually direct himself. And it’s early Spielberg!
August 5, 2011 | Rating: 3/5
David Sexton
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
What keeps us enthralled is its nostalgic sensibility, partly for the time but mostly for its old-school film-making values.
August 5, 2011 | Rating: 4/5
Anthony Quinn
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
With Steven Spielberg producing, and J.J. Abrams directing (and clearly trying to channel early Spielberg), “Super 8” was pretty summer blockbuster-y; with that partnershiphow could it not be?
March 3, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/5
Mark Jackson
Epoch Times
Its mix of genuine terror and sheer joie de vivre shines through.
October 18, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
James Croot
Stuff.co.nz
Really recreates childhood and that over emphasis on simple occurrences..
August 8, 2021 | Rating: 3/5
Carey-Ann Pawsey
Orca Sound
Super 8 is an entertaining popcorn flick, but one does get the sense of Abrams sweating up a storm in an effort to produce the sort of guileless matinee magic that Spielberg conveyed effortlessly.
May 30, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
Ten years after its release, Super 8 remains thrilling and the film of yesteryear holds up beautifully well.
May 25, 2021
Danielle Solzman
Solzy at the Movies
While Super 8 is pretty much paint by numbers, plot wise, it is entertaining and beautifully shot.
May 24, 2021 | Rating: 4.5/5
Allison Rose
FlickDirect…
Plot
SPOILER: In the summer of 1979, a group of friends in a small Ohio town witness a catastrophic train crash while making a super 8 movie and soon suspect that it was not an accident. Shortly after, unusual disappearances and inexplicable events begin to take place in town, and the local Deputy tries to uncover the truth – something more terrifying than any of them could have imagined.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found in the Fresh Kernels database for Super 8.
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