Heavy Metal (1981)

Theatrical Performance
Domestic Box Office $19,571,091Details
Further financial details...

Metrics

Opening Weekend:$3,261,186 (16.7% of total gross)
Legs:6.00 (domestic box office/biggest weekend)
Domestic Share:100.0% (domestic box office/worldwide)
Production Budget:$9,300,000 (worldwide box office is 2.1 times production budget)
Theater counts:620 opening theaters/752 max. theaters, 5.5 weeks average run per theater
Infl. Adj. Dom. BO $75,890,769

Latest Ranking on Cumulative Box Office Lists

RecordRankAmount
All Time Domestic Box Office (Rank 3,901-4,000) 3,917 $19,571,091
All Time Worldwide Box Office (Rank 5,601-5,700) 5,606 $19,571,091

See the Box Office tab (Domestic) and International tab (International and Worldwide) for more Cumulative Box Office Records.


Watch Now On

iTunes:iTunes, iTunes
Google Play:Google Play
Vudu:Vudu

Movie Details

Domestic Releases: August 7th, 1981 (Wide) by Columbia
March 8th, 1996 (Wide) by Sony Pictures, released as Heavy Metal (1981) (Re-Release)
Video Release: August 5th, 2008 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Running Time: 90 minutes
Comparisons: vs. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Create your own comparison chart…
Keywords: Segments, Voiceover/Narration, Good vs. Evil, Action Adventure, Alien Abduction, World War II, Zombies, Warlord, Cult Movie, Film Noir, Private Investigator, 2030s, Set in New York City, Rescue, Reincarnation, Epilogue, Prologue, In a Plane
Source:Based on Comic/Graphic Novel
Genre:Adventure
Production Method:Rotoscoping
Creative Type:Science Fiction
Production Countries: Canada, United States

Ranking on other Records and Milestones

RecordRankAmountChart
Date
Days In
Release
Labor Day (All Movies, 3-Day, Inflation Adjusted) 420 $5,361,900 Sep 4, 1981 31

Compare this performance with other movies…

Domestic Cumulative Box Office Records

Weekend Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossWeek
Aug 7, 1981 4 $3,261,186   620 $5,260   $3,261,186 1
Aug 14, 1981 6 $2,693,969 -17% 738 $3,650   $7,967,081 2
Aug 21, 1981 6 $1,836,386 -32% 752 $2,442   $11,312,996 3
Aug 28, 1981 7 $1,511,442 -18% 701 $2,156   $13,950,979 4
Sep 4, 1981 7 $1,356,331 -10% 507 $2,675   $16,164,432 5
Sep 18, 1981 8 $602,909   435 $1,386   $18,271,347 7
Oct 2, 1981 12 $394,659   269 $1,467   $19,571,091 9
Mar 8, 1996 32 $204,660   54 $3,790   $204,660 762
Mar 15, 1996 42 $77,784 -62% 52 $1,496   $373,101 763
Aug 11, 2000 113 $2,067   4 $517   $443,916 232

Daily Box Office Performance

Weekly Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossWeek
Aug 7, 1981 3 $5,273,112   620 $8,505   $5,273,112 1
Aug 14, 1981 5 $4,203,498 -20% 738 $5,696   $9,476,610 2
Aug 21, 1981 7 $2,962,927 -30% 752 $3,940   $12,439,537 3
Aug 28, 1981 6 $2,368,564 -20% 701 $3,379   $14,808,101 4
Mar 8, 1996 32 $295,317   54 $5,469   $295,317 762

Worldwide Cumulative Box Office Records


Supporting Cast

John Candy    Desk Sergeant

Uncategorized

Eugene Levy    Sterne/Male Reporter/Edsel
Harold Ramis    Zeke
Joe Flaherty    Lawyer/General
Al Waxman    Rudnick

For a description of the different acting role types we use to categorize acting perfomances, see our Glossary.

Production and Technical Credits

Gerald Potterton    Director
Daniel Goldberg    Screenwriter
Len Blum    Screenwriter
Richard Corben    Story Creator
Angus McKie    Story Creator
Dan O’Bannon    Story Creator
Thomas Warkentin    Story Creator
Bernie Wrightson    Story Creator
Ivan Reitman    Producer
Leonard Mogel    Producer

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for June 14th, 2011

June 13th, 2011

It's actually a rather busy week for DVD / Blu-ray releases, at least for the summertime, with four first run releases coming out. Granted, those four films averaged just 21% positive reviews, so it is certainly a matter of quantity over quality. Unfortunately, the quantity of first run releases appears to have scared away quality alternatives and there are not a lot of top notch releases. There are a few that are with picking up, some of which are for limited audiences, but as far as Pick of the Week contenders go, there are none. However, True Blood: Season Three arrived late, and I'm giving the Pick of the Week honor to the Blu-ray. More...


  1. Summary
  2. News
  3. Box Office
  4. International
  5. Video Sales
  6. Cast & Crew
  7. Trailer

Metrics

Opening Weekend:$3,261,186 (16.7% of total gross)
Legs:6.00 (domestic box office/biggest weekend)
Domestic Share:100.0% (domestic box office/worldwide)
Production Budget:$9,300,000 (worldwide box office is 2.1 times production budget)
Theater counts:620 opening theaters/752 max. theaters, 5.5 weeks average run per theater
Infl. Adj. Dom. BO $75,890,769

Latest Ranking on Cumulative Box Office Lists

RecordRankAmount
All Time Domestic Box Office (Rank 3,901-4,000) 3,917 $19,571,091
All Time Worldwide Box Office (Rank 5,601-5,700) 5,606 $19,571,091

See the Box Office tab (Domestic) and International tab (International and Worldwide) for more Cumulative Box Office Records.


Watch Now On

iTunes:iTunes, iTunes
Google Play:Google Play
Vudu:Vudu

Movie Details

Domestic Releases: August 7th, 1981 (Wide) by Columbia
March 8th, 1996 (Wide) by Sony Pictures, released as Heavy Metal (1981) (Re-Release)
Video Release: August 5th, 2008 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Running Time: 90 minutes
Comparisons: vs. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Create your own comparison chart…
Keywords: Segments, Voiceover/Narration, Good vs. Evil, Action Adventure, Alien Abduction, World War II, Zombies, Warlord, Cult Movie, Film Noir, Private Investigator, 2030s, Set in New York City, Rescue, Reincarnation, Epilogue, Prologue, In a Plane
Source:Based on Comic/Graphic Novel
Genre:Adventure
Production Method:Rotoscoping
Creative Type:Science Fiction
Production Countries: Canada, United States

Ranking on other Records and Milestones

RecordRankAmountChart
Date
Days In
Release
Labor Day (All Movies, 3-Day, Inflation Adjusted) 420 $5,361,900 Sep 4, 1981 31

Supporting Cast

John Candy    Desk Sergeant

Uncategorized

Eugene Levy    Sterne/Male Reporter/Edsel
Harold Ramis    Zeke
Joe Flaherty    Lawyer/General
Al Waxman    Rudnick

For a description of the different acting role types we use to categorize acting perfomances, see our Glossary.

Production and Technical Credits

Gerald Potterton    Director
Daniel Goldberg    Screenwriter
Len Blum    Screenwriter
Richard Corben    Story Creator
Angus McKie    Story Creator
Dan O’Bannon    Story Creator
Thomas Warkentin    Story Creator
Bernie Wrightson    Story Creator
Ivan Reitman    Producer
Leonard Mogel    Producer

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for June 14th, 2011

June 13th, 2011

It's actually a rather busy week for DVD / Blu-ray releases, at least for the summertime, with four first run releases coming out. Granted, those four films averaged just 21% positive reviews, so it is certainly a matter of quantity over quality. Unfortunately, the quantity of first run releases appears to have scared away quality alternatives and there are not a lot of top notch releases. There are a few that are with picking up, some of which are for limited audiences, but as far as Pick of the Week contenders go, there are none. However, True Blood: Season Three arrived late, and I'm giving the Pick of the Week honor to the Blu-ray. More...

Compare this performance with other movies…

Domestic Cumulative Box Office Records

Weekend Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossWeek
Aug 7, 1981 4 $3,261,186   620 $5,260   $3,261,186 1
Aug 14, 1981 6 $2,693,969 -17% 738 $3,650   $7,967,081 2
Aug 21, 1981 6 $1,836,386 -32% 752 $2,442   $11,312,996 3
Aug 28, 1981 7 $1,511,442 -18% 701 $2,156   $13,950,979 4
Sep 4, 1981 7 $1,356,331 -10% 507 $2,675   $16,164,432 5
Sep 18, 1981 8 $602,909   435 $1,386   $18,271,347 7
Oct 2, 1981 12 $394,659   269 $1,467   $19,571,091 9
Mar 8, 1996 32 $204,660   54 $3,790   $204,660 762
Mar 15, 1996 42 $77,784 -62% 52 $1,496   $373,101 763
Aug 11, 2000 113 $2,067   4 $517   $443,916 232

Daily Box Office Performance

Weekly Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossWeek
Aug 7, 1981 3 $5,273,112   620 $8,505   $5,273,112 1
Aug 14, 1981 5 $4,203,498 -20% 738 $5,696   $9,476,610 2
Aug 21, 1981 7 $2,962,927 -30% 752 $3,940   $12,439,537 3
Aug 28, 1981 6 $2,368,564 -20% 701 $3,379   $14,808,101 4
Mar 8, 1996 32 $295,317   54 $5,469   $295,317 762

Worldwide Cumulative Box Office Records