Child's Play (1988 film)

Child's Play
In a thunderstorm, a woman falls out of an apartment building with glass shattering. A closeup of a doll can be seen in the background. Text reads "Something's moved in with the Barclay family, and so has terror". The film's titles has blood splattered in the word "PLAY". Below the film's title, another tagline reads "You'll wish it was only make-believe."
Theatrical release poster
Directed byTom Holland
Screenplay by
Story byDon Mancini
Produced byDavid Kirschner
Starring
CinematographyBill Butler
Edited by
  • Edward Warschilka
  • Roy E. Peterson
Music byJoe Renzetti
Production
company
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • November 9, 1988 (1988-11-09)
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$9–13 million[1][2]
Box office$44.2 million[3]

Child's Play is a 1988 American supernatural slasher film[4][5][6] directed by Tom Holland, from a screenplay he co-wrote with Don Mancini and John Lafia, and a story by Mancini.[7] The film stars Catherine Hicks and Chris Sarandon with Brad Dourif as Chucky. Its plot follows a widowed mother who gives a doll to her son, unaware that the doll is possessed by the soul of a serial killer.

Child's Play was released in the United States on November 9, 1988, by MGM/UA Communications Co. It received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed more than $44 million against a production budget of $9 million.[8][9][2] Along with the film gaining a 1980s cult following,[10] the box office success also spawned a media franchise that includes a series of six sequels, merchandise, comic books, a reboot, and a television series. The original Child's Play film was distributed by United Artists,[11] although the rights to the series were sold to Universal Pictures in 1990.[12] MGM (via United Artists) retained the rights to the original film and Orion Pictures (through United Artists Releasing) also distributed the reboot in 2019.

  1. ^ a b "Child's Play (1988)". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "How Child's Play Survived Bad Test Screenings to Become a Horror Classic". The Hollywood Reporter. November 5, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  3. ^ "Child's Play". Box Office Mojo.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference roger was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "The new Child's Play is a better sci-fi parable than a B-movie slasher". Polygon. June 21, 2019.
  6. ^ The Washington Post (subscription required)
  7. ^ James, Caryn (November 9, 1988). "A Killer Companion in 'Child's Play'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  8. ^ "'Child's Play': THR's 1988 Review". The Hollywood Reporter. November 2, 2014. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  9. ^ "Child's Play (1988) - Box Office Mojo". www.boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  10. ^ "Chucky set to return in new sequel to Child's Play movies". Metro. June 25, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2016.
  11. ^ Child's Play [1988] - IGN, retrieved June 27, 2019
  12. ^ "Chucky Movie Rights Explained: Why There's Two Franchise at Two Different Studios". ScreenRant. June 19, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2019.