Superman III (1983)
40%RT Audience Score: 23%
Awards & Nominations: 2 wins & 7 nominations
When not overusing sight gags, slapstick, and Richard Pryor, Superman III resorts to plot points rehashed from the previous Superman flicks
Superman III is like a bad blind date that you can’t wait to end. The plot is all over the place, the action scenes are good but not enough to save the movie, and the score is just plain weird. The only reason to watch this movie is for Richard Pryor, who is the only bright spot in this otherwise forgettable mess. Save yourself the trouble and just play on your phone during the rest of the movie. Trust me, it’s what Gus Gorman would want you to do.
Production Company(ies)
Apatow Productions, Film Nation Entertainment, Story Ink
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
MPAA / Certificate
PG
Year of Release
1983
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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:NA
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Language(s):English, Italian, Spanish
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): Nov 28, 2006
Genre(s)
Adventure/Action
Keyword(s)
starring Christopher Reeve, Richard Pryor, Robert Vaughn, Jackie Cooper, Margot Kidder, Annette O’Toole, directed by Richard Lester, written by David Newman, Leslie Newman, Adventure/Action, box office performance, budget, reviewed by James Berardinelli, William Thomas, Linda Deutsch, Gary Arnold, Variety Staff, Geoff Andrew, Alan Ng, Mike Massie, Matthew Rozsa, Lawrence O’Toole, People Staff, PG, Pierre Spengler, Superman, computer programmer, financial tycoon, weather satellite, kryptonite, Colombia’s coffee crop, mortal weakness, tar, sound mix, surround
Worldwide gross: $59,950,623
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $183,446,370
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 743
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 20,005,057
US/Canada gross: $59,950,623
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $183,446,370
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 408
US/Canada opening weekend: $13,352,357
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $40,857,648
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 298
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $39,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $119,338,350
Production budget ranking: 310
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $64,263,701
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$155,681
ROI to date (est.): 0%
ROI ranking: 1,396
Richard Pryor – Gus Gorman
Robert Vaughn – Ross Webster
Jackie Cooper – Perry White
Margot Kidder – Lois Lane
Annette O’Toole – Lana Lang
Director(s)
Richard Lester
Writer(s)
David Newman, Leslie Newman
Producer(s)
Pierre Spengler
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
2 wins & 7 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (55) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (16) | Rotten (39)
The plot is nonsensical, as if different scenes were written in isolation without any conception of how to connect them together.
November 30, 2021 | Rating: 1.5/4
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
TOP CRITIC
The action is good but this doesn’t move the audience in the same way as the first two.
August 13, 2020 | Rating: 3/5
William Thomas
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Superman III may be the saddest dissappointment of the summer movie season.
March 4, 2019
Linda Deutsch
Associated Press
TOP CRITIC
Reeve, the ongoing justification for the series, is no longer contractually obligated after this episode, and his liberation comes not an installment too soon.
April 23, 2018
Gary Arnold
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
Putting its emphasis on broad comedy at the expense of ingenious plotting and technical wizardry, it has virtually none of the mythic or cosmic sensibility that marked its predecessors.
March 26, 2009
Variety Staff
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Enjoyable, nevertheless.
June 24, 2006
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
The franchise is guaranteed money, so why did Warner Brothers decide to spend even less money on this trash?
February 16, 2022 | Rating: 5/10
Alan Ng
Film Threat
Perhaps most unfitting of all is Ken Thorne’s new score, which is peppered with circusy ditties, sound effects, and musical cues.
January 2, 2022 | Rating: 2/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
See this movie for Richard Pryor. Play on your cell phone during the rest. Frankly it’s what Gus Gorman would want you to do.
January 9, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Matthew Rozsa
matthewrozsa.com
The film’s predecessors were extremely smooth renderings of the comic strip material, but Superman III looks as chintzy as a Grade-B movie serial.
August 13, 2020
Lawrence O’Toole
Maclean’s Magazine
If not as exhilarating as Superman II, Superman III is surprising and boisterously witty.
August 13, 2020
People Staff
People Magazine
One expects romance, humor and grandeur, but only gets a frustrating mixture of failed opportunities and missed chances. Bummer.
August 13, 2020
J.A. Conner
Santa Cruz Sentinel…
Plot
Clark travels to Smallville for his Highscool Reunion and reconnect with his childhood sweetheart Lana Lang. Computer programmer Gus Gorman is hired by financial tycoon Ross, to Take control of the coffee business by wiping out all the competition via Satellite. After Superman destroyed there plan Ross Makes Gus figure out how to find Kryptonite to eliminate Superman, but uses Tar as the missing element. Causes an unusual effect on Superman. Meanwhile Gus’s gets his machine he wanted built that can do anything you want it to do.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Richard Pryor’s performance in Superman III is often cited as one of the few highlights of the film.
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