Wolf (1994)
60%RT Audience Score: 42%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 5 Oscars
37 wins & 179 nominations total
Wolf misses the jugular after showing flashes of killer instinct early on, but engaging stars and deft direction make this a unique horror-romance worth watching
If you’re looking for a werewolf movie that’s both mature and funny, then Wolf might just be the movie for you. While it may not be the scariest movie out there, it’s definitely worth a watch for its unique take on the classic tale. Plus, who doesn’t love a good corporate satire mixed in with their horror? Just be prepared for some green-eyed monsters by the end.
Production Company(ies)
Universal Pictures, Studio Canal, Working Title Films,
Distributor
Columbia TriStar Home Video
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Portofino, Genoa, Liguria, Italy
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for sequences of strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use and language throughout, and for some violence
Year of Release
2013
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Datasat Dolby Digital Dolby Surround 7.1
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:2h 5m
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Language(s):English, French
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 17, 1994 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 29, 2001
Genre(s)
Horror
Keyword(s)
starring Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer, James Spader, Kate Nelligan, Richard Jenkins, Christopher Plummer, directed by Mike Nichols, written by Jim Harrison, Wesley Strick, horror, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Chris Stuckmann, Adam Mars-Jones, Rick Groen, Peter Travers, James Berardinelli, Marc Savlov, Sheila Reid, Brian Bethune, David Nusair, Malcolm Johnson, Quentin Curtis, produced by Douglas Wick, R-rated, werewolf, aging, book editor, rural Vermont, youthful vigor, fired, replaced, vicious young executive, struggle, former boss’s daughter, animal-like urges, werewolf myth, unique horror-romance
Worldwide gross: $392,000,694
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $497,977,310
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 288
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 54,305,050
US/Canada gross: $116,900,694
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $148,504,567
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 521
US/Canada opening weekend: $18,361,578
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $23,325,594
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 576
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $100,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $127,034,803
Production budget ranking: 286
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $68,408,242
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $302,534,265
ROI to date (est.): 155%
ROI ranking: 754
Michelle Pfeiffer – Laura Alden
James Spader – Stewart Swinton
Kate Nelligan – Charlotte Randall
Richard Jenkins – Detective Bridger
Christopher Plummer – Raymond Alden
Director(s)
Mike Nichols
Writer(s)
Jim Harrison, Wesley Strick
Producer(s)
Douglas Wick
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 5 Oscars
37 wins & 179 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (57) | Top Critics (11) | Fresh (36) | Rotten (21)
It’s an extremely mature werewolf movie… The film is actually kind of funny.
October 8, 2020 | Rating: B
Chris Stuckmann
ChrisStuckmann.com
TOP CRITIC
The film isn’t a waste of time, and works rather well for about two- thirds of its length as a comedy of business life. For a horror film or a serious exploration of the divided nature of modern man, you need to look elsewhere.
November 15, 2017
Adam Mars-Jones
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
If he’d followed through, Mike Nichols might have made a brilliant picture — seems he just couldn’t bear to look a gift wolf in the mouth.
April 12, 2002
Rick Groen
Globe and Mail
TOP CRITIC
Nichols has crafted a rapturous romantic thriller with a darkly comic subtext about what kills human values.
May 12, 2001
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
TOP CRITIC
Monster movies are supposed to frighten the audience; this one fails utterly in that arena.
January 1, 2000 | Rating: 2.5/4
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
TOP CRITIC
Nichols tries mightily to put a new spin on a very old tale, but try as he might, he never gets much off the ground.
January 1, 2000 | Rating: 2/5
Marc Savlov
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
The unlikely couple combine talents on screen to put a new twist on a classic story.
May 16, 2022
Sheila Reid
Women in the Life
[Wolf] is deliciously rich entertainment — with elements of a scary thriller, a Beauty and the Beast romance, a corporate satire and a witty inquiry into the nature of disease and sexual aggression.
December 22, 2021
Brian Bethune
Maclean’s Magazine
…a watchable yet disappointing endeavor that generally feels as though it should be much, much better…
July 31, 2021 | Rating: 2.5/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
In the end, Wolf loses any trace of subtlety and becomes quite silly, a veritable monster mash. It seems everybody’s eyes are turning wolfen green.
May 29, 2018
Malcolm Johnson
Hartford Courant
Much of Wolf can be devoured with pleasure. To be more interested in philanthropy than lycanthropy may be a fault to the good.
November 30, 2017
Quentin Curtis
Independent on Sunday
A fine little fable of business world mores that has the gross misfortune to turn into a horror film at a time when nobody quite knew what horror was.
November 16, 2014 | Rating: 6/10
Tim Brayton
Antagony & Ecstasy…
Plot
In the early 1990s, Jordan Belfort teamed with his partner Donny Azoff and started brokerage firm Stratton Oakmont. Their company quickly grows from a staff of 20 to a staff of more than 250 and their status in the trading community and Wall Street grows exponentially. So much that companies file their initial public offerings through them. As their status grows, so do the amount of substances they abuse, and so do their lies. They draw attention like no other, throwing lavish parties for their staff when they hit the jackpot on high trades. That ultimately leads to Belfort featured on the cover of Forbes Magazine, being called “The Wolf Of Wall St.”. With the FBI onto Belfort’s trading schemes, he devises new ways to cover his tracks and watch his fortune grow. Belfort ultimately comes up with a scheme to stash their cash in a European bank. But with the FBI watching him like a hawk, how long will Belfort and Azoff be able to maintain their elaborate wealth and luxurious lifestyles?
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film stars Jack Nicholson as the aging book editor turned werewolf.
Mike-Nichols.jpg
