Twister (1996)
67%RT Audience Score: 58%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 2 Oscars
11 wins & 17 nominations total
A high-concept blockbuster that emphasizes special effects over three-dimensional characters, Twister’s visceral thrills are often offset by the film’s generic plot
Twister is a wild ride that will blow you away! The special effects are top-notch and the tornadoes are truly terrifying. Sure, the romance and personal drama between the characters is a bit cheesy, but who cares when you’re watching cows fly through the air? This movie is a perfect example of why you should never mess with Mother Nature. Just make sure to hold onto your popcorn and buckle up for a thrilling adventure!
Production Company(ies)
Frenesy Film Company, La Cinéfacture RT Features,
Distributor
MCA/Universal Pictures [us], Warner Home Vídeo, Warner Bros.
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Bolton, Ontario, Canada
MPAA / Certificate
PG-13
Year of Release
1996
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:DTS Dolby Digital SDDS
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:1h 54m
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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 10, 1996 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 24, 1998
Genre(s)
Action
Keyword(s)
starring Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Cary Elwes, Jami Gertz, Lois Smith, Alan Ruck, directed by Jan de Bont, written by Michael Crichton, Anne-Marie Martin, produced by Kathleen Kennedy, Michael Crichton, Ian Bryce, action, tornado, special effects, blockbuster, university professor, data-gathering device, rival, storm, underfunded team, prototype, PG-13, box office, gross USA, MCA/Universal Pictures, Warner Home Vídeo, Warner Bros., reviewed by Jonathan Rosenbaum, Ann Hornaday, Jay Carr, Bob Fenster, Ian Nathan, Desson Thomson, PG-13, Kathleen Kennedy, Michael Crichton, Ian Bryce, Anne-Marie Martin, Michael Crichton, Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Cary Elwes, Jami Gertz, Lois Smith, Alan Ruck, Jan de Bont, action movie, disaster movie, tornado movie, special effects movie, summer blockbuster, storm chasers, weather, natural disaster, adventure, thriller, drama, suspense, action-packed, intense, thrilling, exciting, visually stunning, iconic, classic, memorable, must-see, box office hit, successful, popular, high-concept, generic plot
Worldwide gross: $494,580,615
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $944,028,526
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 104
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 102,947,495
US/Canada gross: $241,830,615
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $461,593,100
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 84
US/Canada opening weekend: $41,059,405
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $78,371,955
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 110
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $92,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $175,604,587
Production budget ranking: 166
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $94,563,070
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $673,860,870
ROI to date (est.): 249%
ROI ranking: 534
Bill Paxton – William Harding
Cary Elwes – Dr. Jonas Miller
Jami Gertz – Dr. Melissa Reeves
Lois Smith – Meg Greene
Alan Ruck – Robert ‘Rabbit’ Nurick
Kathleen Kennedy – Producer
Michael Crichton – Producer, Writer
Ian Bryce – Producer
Jan de Bont – Director
Anne-Marie Martin – Writer
Director(s)
Jan de Bont
Writer(s)
Michael Crichton, Anne-Marie Martin
Producer(s)
Kathleen Kennedy, Michael Crichton, Ian Bryce
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 2 Oscars
11 wins & 17 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (70) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (26)
The engineering of the special effects is fairly impressive, and the sight of so many objects and creatures being buffeted about carries a certain apocalyptic splendor.
June 14, 2022
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
The storms are breathtaking, the action pulse-quickening, and the two leads smart and likeable.
May 7, 2021 | Rating: 3/5
Ann Hornaday
Austin American-Statesman
TOP CRITIC
[A] high-powered spectacle designed to blow us away…
May 7, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Jay Carr
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
No one’s going to buy into the romantic bickering between the lead scientists or their rivalry team of evil meteorologists. Still, if you’re hooked on high-voltage special effects, Twister will give you a charge.
May 7, 2021 | Rating: 3/5
Bob Fenster
Arizona Republic
TOP CRITIC
Like all white-knuckle rides, once you’re done you fancy doing it all over again.
May 7, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Ian Nathan
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
The hackneyed chatter and half-baked personal histories are enough to make you scream into the wind.
May 7, 2021
Desson Thomson
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
This is a little long and ridiculous, but it’s also just a tour-de-force roller coaster theme park attraction…which is ironic, because the actual theme park attraction for this sucked.
June 25, 2022
Cory Woodroof
615 Film
As sold in the original trailers all those years ago, this is not about the actors. This is about the special effects, Industrial Light and Magic living up to their name in creating a real monster out of whirling winds.
June 1, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/5
James Croot
Stuff.co.nz
Particularly notable is the fine character actress Lois Smith as Hunt’s aunt.
March 1, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Mal Vincent
The Virginian-Pilot
“Twister” captured enough of the respectable fear and terror associated with its windy deliverer of disaster. The movie speaks of instincts and rattles your own.
August 11, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Don Shanahan
25YL (25 Years Later)
Twister achieves moments of dramatic and catastrophic high tension thanks to the deployment of special effects, while its character plot is a lazy excuse to gloat in those sequences of massive destruction. [Full Review in Spanish]
May 7, 2021 | Rating: 2/5
Covadonga G. Lahera
Sensacine
But what the hell, the film entertains thanks to a frenetic pace that does not give the viewer respite; it swallows people running from one place to another in search of tornadoes. [Full Review in Spanish]
May 7, 2021
Alberto Abuín
Espinof…
Plot
TV weatherman Bill Harding is trying to get his tornado-hunter wife, Jo, to sign divorce papers so he can marry his girlfriend Melissa. But Mother Nature, in the form of a series of intense storms sweeping across Oklahoma, has other plans. Soon the three have joined the team of stormchasers as they attempt to insert a revolutionary measuring device into the very heart of several extremely violent tornados.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found in the Fresh Kernels database for Twister.
Jan-de-Bont.jpg
