The Fifth Element (1997)

NEUTRAL

In-Theaters

81%

PG-13

1997, Adventure/Action, 2h 7m

RT Critics’ Score: 71% (UNBIASED)
RT Audience Score: 86%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
10 wins & 39 nominations total

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Critics Consensus

Visually inventive and gleefully over the top, Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element is a fantastic piece of pop sci-fi that never takes itself too seriously

Audience Consensus

The Fifth Element is a wild ride through a futuristic world filled with bizarre characters and stunning visuals. While the plot may be a bit messy, it’s hard not to get swept up in the sheer spectacle of it all. From the outlandish costumes to the over-the-top action sequences, this movie is a feast for the eyes and ears. Plus, who doesn’t love a good dose of Bruce Willis being a total badass? Overall, The Fifth Element may not be a cinematic masterpiece, but it’s definitely a fun and entertaining ride.

Storyline

In the twenty-third century, the universe is threatened by evil. The only hope for mankind is the Fifth Element, who comes to Earth every five thousand years to protect the humans with four stones of the four elements: fire, water, Earth and air. A Mondoshawan spacecraft is bringing The Fifth Element back to Earth but it is destroyed by the evil Mangalores. However, a team of scientists use the DNA of the remains of the Fifth Element to rebuild the perfect being called Leeloo. She escapes from the laboratory and stumbles upon the taxi driver and former elite commando Major Korben Dallas that helps her to escape from the police. Leeloo tells him that she must meet Father Vito Cornelius to accomplish her mission. Meanwhile, the Evil uses the greedy and cruel Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg and a team of mercenary Mangalores to retrieve the stones and avoid the protection of Leeloo. But the skilled Korben Dallas has fallen in love with Leeloo and decides to help her to retrieve the stones.

Production Company(ies)
Hand Made Films, Python Pictures,

Distributor
Columbia Pictures

Release Type

Filming Location(s)
Royal Opera House, Bow Street, Covent Garden, London, England, UK

MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for intense sci-fi violence, some sexuality and brief nudity

Year of Release
1997

Technical Specs

Color:

Color
Sound mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS
Aspect ratio:

2.39 : 1
Runtime:

2h 7m
Language(s):

English, Swedish, German, Arabic, Egyptian, (, Ancient)
Country of origin:

United States
Release date:

Release Date (Theaters): May 9, 1997 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 9, 2001

Genre(s)
Adventure/Action

Keyword(s)
starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Milla Jovovich, Chris Tucker, Luke Perry, Patrice Ledoux, Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen, Adventure, Action, Fantasy, PG-13, Columbia Pictures, Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital, Scope (2.35:1), box office, budget, reviewed by Duane Byrge, Gene Siskel, Joe Morgenstern, Owen Gleiberman, Todd McCarthy, Geoff Andrew, Travis Johnson, Eddie Harrison, Mike Massie, Leigh Paatsch, Zaki Hasan, directed by Luc Besson, written by Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen, Patrice Ledoux

Box Office Details

Worldwide gross: $263,920,180
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $491,968,556
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 292
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 53,649,788

US/Canada gross: $63,820,180
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $118,965,976
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 637
US/Canada opening weekend: $17,031,345
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $31,747,804
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 422

Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $93,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $173,359,520
Production budget ranking: 171
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $93,354,102
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $225,254,935
ROI to date (est.): 84%
ROI ranking: 997

Cast & Crew

Bruce Willis

Gary Oldman

Ian Holm

Milla Jovovich

Chris Tucker

Korben Dallas

Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg

Father Vito Cornelius

Leeloo

Ruby Rhod

Bruce Willis – Korben Dallas
Gary Oldman – Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg
Ian Holm – Father Vito Cornelius
Milla Jovovich – Leeloo
Chris Tucker – Ruby Rhod
Luke Perry – Billy

Luc Besson

Patrice Ledoux

Director

Writer

Producer

Director(s)
Luc Besson

Writer(s)
Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen

Producer(s)
Patrice Ledoux

Film Festivals

Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
10 wins & 39 nominations total

Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Duane Byrge

Gene Siskel

Joe Morgenstern

Owen Gleiberman

Todd McCarthy

Hollywood Reporter

Chicago Tribune

Wall Street Journal

Entertainment Weekly

Variety

THE FIFTH ELEMENT
All Critics (68) | Top Critics (17) | Fresh (48) | Rotten (20)
Narratively challenged, visually monotonous and aurally overpowering, The Fifth Element is a staggering accretion of all the wrong elements and some rather dopey ones as well.

May 10, 2018

Duane Byrge
Hollywood Reporter
TOP CRITIC
The Fifth Element has enough eye-appeal for two good movies.

May 10, 2017 | Rating: 3/4

Gene Siskel
Chicago Tribune
TOP CRITIC
In this movie and many like it, the only elements that count are impact, impact, impact and impact. The fifth element is gibberish.

July 14, 2014

Joe Morgenstern
Wall Street Journal
TOP CRITIC
September 7, 2011 | Rating: B-

Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
A hodgepodge of elements that don’t comfortably coalesce.

September 4, 2008

Todd McCarthy
Variety
TOP CRITIC
Besson’s futuristic fable is flawed by a messy narrative which strains to incorporate far too many grotesque and eccentric characters.

January 26, 2006

Geoff Andrew
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
A sci-fi film a million aesthetic miles away from the industrial dystopias, dusty wastelands, and sterile starships of most screen SF of the time.

June 7, 2022

Travis Johnson
Flicks.com.au
…a distinctive Moebius-inspired gumbo that’s easy to enjoy…

February 17, 2021 | Rating: 4/5

Eddie Harrison
film-authority.com
Visionary filmmaker Luc Besson manages to create several of the most exotic and original characters for this magnum opus of sensory outlandishness.

September 11, 2020 | Rating: 9/10

Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
The brains behind The Fifth Element would have been better off adding a sixth element – common sense – to the plot, and allowing it to form a bridge between the film’s fantastic visual appeal and its ramshackle plot.

June 12, 2020 | Rating: 2/5

Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)
The Fifth Element is a bold, bright, loud, rowdy, lush, extravagant science fiction space opera that wears its heart on its garish sleeve.

November 6, 2018

Ed Travis
Cinapse
Aside from Besson’s impressive directorial panache, always providing something eye-catching and original to look at…there is little else about The Fifth Element that is particularly noteworthy.

November 2, 2018 | Rating: C-

Zaki Hasan
Zaki’s Corner…

Plot
In the twenty-third century, the universe is threatened by evil. The only hope for mankind is the Fifth Element, who comes to Earth every five thousand years to protect the humans with four stones of the four elements: fire, water, Earth and air. A Mondoshawan spacecraft is bringing The Fifth Element back to Earth but it is destroyed by the evil Mangalores. However, a team of scientists use the DNA of the remains of the Fifth Element to rebuild the perfect being called Leeloo. She escapes from the laboratory and stumbles upon the taxi driver and former elite commando Major Korben Dallas that helps her to escape from the police. Leeloo tells him that she must meet Father Vito Cornelius to accomplish her mission. Meanwhile, the Evil uses the greedy and cruel Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg and a team of mercenary Mangalores to retrieve the stones and avoid the protection of Leeloo. But the skilled Korben Dallas has fallen in love with Leeloo and decides to help her to retrieve the stones.

Trivia