Lethal Weapon

Lethal Weapon
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRichard Donner
Written byShane Black
Produced byRichard Donner
Joel Silver
Starring
CinematographyStephen Goldblatt
Edited byStuart Baird
Music byMichael Kamen
Eric Clapton
Production
company
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
  • March 6, 1987 (1987-03-06)
Running time
112 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15 million
Box office$114.7 million

Lethal Weapon is a 1987 American action film directed by Richard Donner and written by Shane Black. It stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover alongside Gary Busey, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, and Mitchell Ryan. In Lethal Weapon, a pair of mismatched LAPD detectives—Martin Riggs (Gibson), a former Green Beret who has become suicidal following the death of his wife, and veteran officer and family man Roger Murtaugh (Glover)—work together as partners.

The film was released on March 6, 1987. Upon its release, Lethal Weapon grossed over $120 million (against a production budget of $15 million) and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound. It spawned a franchise that includes three sequels and a television series, with a fourth sequel in development.