The Addams Family (1991)
73%RT Audience Score: 66%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
5 wins & 23 nominations total
The movie is peppered with amusing sight gags and one-liners, but the disjointed script doesn’t cohere into a successful whole
The Addams Family has been resurrected more times than a zombie, but this latest iteration manages to capture the macabre humor of the original cartoons. The cast is delightfully creepy, and the film strikes a balance between morbidity and genuine care. It’s the perfect movie to watch when you’re feeling a little dead inside.
Production Company(ies)
Mooz Films, Cedrus Invest Bank Sunnyland Film
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Wide)
Filming Location(s)
Toluca Lake, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
PG-13
Year of Release
1991
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 39m
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Language(s):English, Italian, French
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 22, 1991 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 18, 2005
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Dan Hedaya, Elizabeth Wilson, Judith Malina, Christina Ricci, Carel Struycken, Dana Ivey, Paul Benedict, John Franklin, Christopher Hart, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, written by Charles Addams, Caroline Thompson, Larry Wilson, comedy, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Angie Errigo, Owen Gleiberman, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Janet Maslin, Rita Kempley, Almar Haflidason, Douglas Davidson, James Kendrick, Tim Brayton, Brian D Johnson, Matt Brunson, PG-13, produced by Scott Rudin, Charles Addams’s macabre drawings, lawyer Tully Alford, Addams’ Attorney, Dr Greta Pinder-Schloss, Grandm, Morticia Addams, Gomez Addams, Uncle Fester, Gordon Craven, Abigail Craven, The Addams Family, Paramount Pictures, Surround, Dolby SR, Flat (1.85:1)
Worldwide gross: $191,502,426
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $422,720,752
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 366
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 46,098,228
US/Canada gross: $113,502,426
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $250,544,246
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 255
US/Canada opening weekend: $24,203,754
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $53,427,151
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 204
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $30,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $66,221,733
Production budget ranking: 631
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $35,660,403
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $320,838,616
ROI to date (est.): 315%
ROI ranking: 442
Raul Julia – Gomez Addams
Christopher Lloyd – Uncle Fester, Gordon Craven
Dan Hedaya – Tully Alford, Addams’ Attorney
Elizabeth Wilson – Abigail Craven, Dr. Greta Pinder-Schloss
Judith Malina – Grandma
Director(s)
Barry Sonnenfeld
Writer(s)
Charles Addams, Caroline Thompson, Larry Wilson
Producer(s)
Scott Rudin
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
5 wins & 23 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (49) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (32) | Rotten (17)
Deliciously sick and delightfully cast.
July 16, 2010 | Rating: 3/5
Angie Errigo
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
They’re creepy and they’re predictable? Mysterious and rather tame?
July 7, 2010 | Rating: C+
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
An extended collection of one-liners and not much more.
May 3, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
The film’s aimlessness and repetitiveness eventually become draining.
May 20, 2003 | Rating: 2/5
Janet Maslin
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
More than merely a sequel of the TV series, the film is a compendium of paterfamilias Charles Addams’s macabre drawings, a resurrection of the cartoonist’s body of work. For family friends, it would seem a viewing is de rigueur mortis.
January 1, 2000
Rita Kempley
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
At times this can all become a little silly but Sonnenfeld manages to rein the film in before things get too ridiculous.
January 1, 2000 | Rating: 3/5
Almar Haflidason
BBC.com
TOP CRITIC
It may mostly be cosmetic, but this release is a reminder that some stories are lightning in a bottle, capturing a cast and a concept that works only once in a generation, and stand the test of time.
November 23, 2021
Douglas Davidson
Elements of Madness
captures the family’s droll humor with just the right mixture of morbidity and genuine care
November 10, 2019 | Rating: 3/4
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk
Lets the bizarre rhythms of the cast move us from gag to gag with a stately slowness that keeps a fundamentally slapstick-driven film from ever feeling too busy or rushed.
October 13, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/5
Tim Brayton
Alternate Ending
A late Halloween treat giftwrapped for Christmas, The Addams Family does not live up to its packaging.
October 11, 2019
Brian D. Johnson
Maclean’s Magazine
Intermittently amusing.
October 5, 2019 | Rating: 2.5/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
First-time filmmaker Barry Sonnenfeld has infused The Addams Family with a gleefully broad visual sensibility that remains a highlight from start to finish…
May 11, 2019 | Rating: 3/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews…
Plot
The Addams Family steps out of Charles Addams’ cartoons. They live with all of the trappings of the macabre (including a detached hand for a servant) and are quite wealthy. Added to this mix is a crooked accountant and his loan shark and a plot to slip the shark’s son into the family as their long-lost Uncle Fester. Can the false Fester find his way into the vault before he is discovered?
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The performances in The Addams Family are “extraordinarily good,” particularly Anjelica Huston’s delivery of the dry, morbid humor.
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