Wayne’s World (1992)
86%RT Audience Score: 84%
Awards & Nominations: 4 wins & 5 nominations
An oddball comedy that revels in its silliness and memorable catch phrases, Wayne’s World is also fondly regarded because of its endearing characters
Wayne’s World is like a time capsule of the early 90s, complete with big hair, flannel shirts, and a killer Queen soundtrack. It’s a movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and neither should you. Just sit back, relax, and let Wayne and Garth take you on a wild ride of irreverent humor and shameless stupidity. And don’t forget to sing along to Bohemian Rhapsody – it’s mandatory. Schwing!
Production Company(ies)
Lucasfilm,
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Berwyn, Illinois, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for sex related dialogue
Year of Release
1992
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Stereo Dolby SR
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 35m
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Language(s):English, Cantonese
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Feb 14, 1992 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 10, 2001
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
starring Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Rob Lowe, Tia Carrere, Brian Doyle-Murray, Lara Flynn Boyle, directed by Penelope Spheeris, written by Mike Myers, Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner, comedy, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Todd Camp, Joe Pollack, Bob Fenster, Jim Farber, Jay Boyar, Rene Rodriguez, James Kendrick, Patrick McDonald, Stephen Silver, Danielle Solzman, Douglas Davidson, PG-13, Lorne Michaels, produced by Lorne Michaels, Paramount Pictures, sound mix, surround, Dolby Stereo, aspect ratio, flat (1.85:1), Wayne Campbell, Garth Algar, Benjamin Oliver, Cassandra, Noah Vanderhoff, Stacy, Alice Cooper, music business, product placement, Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, public access TV, commercial television, girlfriend, satire, heavy metal, punk rock, Blade, Cruel Intentions, fashion, camera positions, one-liners, endearing characters, memorable catch phrases, sociological dissertation, post-adolescent, pre-existential, psychodynamic polemics, popular culture, This Is Spinal Tap, satire, music industry, low-brow humor, stupid, endearing screen presences, hard rock duo, corporate success, obscurity, easy ride
Worldwide gross: $183,097,323
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $391,924,498
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 391
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 42,739,858
US/Canada gross: $121,697,323
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $260,496,229
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 240
US/Canada opening weekend: $18,122,710
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $38,792,124
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 330
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $20,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $42,810,511
Production budget ranking: 896
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $23,053,460
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $326,060,527
ROI to date (est.): 495%
ROI ranking: 260
Dana Carvey – Garth Algar
Rob Lowe – Benjamin Oliver
Tia Carrere – Cassandra
Brian Doyle-Murray – Noah Vanderhoff
Lara Flynn Boyle – Stacy
Director – Penelope Spheeris
Producer – Lorne Michaels
Writers – Mike Myers, Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner
Director(s)
Penelope Spheeris
Writer(s)
Mike Myers, Bonnie Turner, Terry Turner
Producer(s)
Lorne Michaels
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
4 wins & 5 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (95) | Top Critics (30) | Fresh (75) | Rotten (20)
The film still has its priceless moments, however, the best of which comes from Wayne and his pals driving around town while singing along to Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody.
March 11, 2021
Todd Camp
Fort Worth Star-Telegram/DFW.com
TOP CRITIC
Lots of tasteless jokes, and no need to pay attention — if you miss a punch line, don’t worry. It will be back again in 10 minutes or so.
March 11, 2021
Joe Pollack
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
Wayne’s World is a sociological dissertation on the post-adolescent, pre-existential, psychodynamic polemics of popular culture. Not. Wayne’s World is a ton of fun for people who are younger than 30 or who think they are.
March 11, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Bob Fenster
Arizona Republic
TOP CRITIC
Amazingly, the patched-together and padded screen version manages to amuse, if only through the sheer brazenness of its stupidity.
March 11, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
Jim Farber
New York Daily News
TOP CRITIC
Party on, Wayne and Garth, and welcome to the movies.
March 11, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Jay Boyar
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
Wayne’s World is at its funniest when it steers away from the plot and into sheer irreverence.
March 11, 2021 | Rating: 2.5/4
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald
TOP CRITIC
successfully expands the world created by the SNL skits, following the logic of the characters, but taking them out of the basement and giving them more depth and nuance without losing the traits that fans already loved
March 14, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk
What struck me in now is that it eschews the plot, and going off into flights of comic fancy including re-doing the ending a couple times until theyre satisfied. The result is still funny, still EXCELLENT and SCHWING! Two on-air reviews in one link!
February 23, 2022 | Rating: 5/5
Patrick McDonald
HollywoodChicago.com
Its a strange but delightful mix of timeliness, timelessness, and cultural specificity of the wrong time (30th anniversary)
February 18, 2022 | Rating: A-
Stephen Silver
Tilt Magazine
…Wayne’s World is one of the few SNL success stories.
February 14, 2022
Danielle Solzman
Solzy at the Movies
A ridiculously meta film, which, on paper, shouldnt work at all, it continues to garner genuine laughs even 30 years later. Some of them you had to be there for, but well get into that.
February 14, 2022
Douglas Davidson
Elements of Madness
There was an odd tendency in the early-to-mid-1990s to produce ample movies and television shows that celebrated stupidity and condemned intelligence, and Wayne’s World belongs to this group.
February 4, 2022 | Rating: 2/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy…
Plot
Wayne is still living at home. He has a world class collection of name tags from jobs he’s tried, but he does have his own public access TV show. A local station decides to hire him and his sidekick, Garth, to do their show professionally and Wayne & Garth find that it is no longer the same. Wayne falls for a bass guitarist and uses his and Garth’s Video contacts to help her career along, knowing that Ben Oliver, the sleazy advertising guy who is ruining their show will probably take her away from him if they fail.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels doesn’t have anything particularly goofy or odd to say about Wayne’s World, but they do mention that Rob Lowe plays a producer who wants to take the public access show to commercial television.
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