 | This article possibly contains original research. (July 2022) |
| Piranha | |
|---|---|
&sq=Envato&lang=en&file=File:PiranhaPosterA.jpg) Theatrical release poster by John Solie | |
| Directed by | Joe Dante |
| Screenplay by | John Sayles |
| Story by |
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| Produced by | Jon Davison |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Jamie Anderson |
| Edited by |
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| Music by | Pino Donaggio |
Production company | Piranha Productions |
| Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $600,000[1]–770,000[2] |
| Box office | $16 million[citation needed] or $2.9 million[3] |
Piranha is a 1978 American horror film directed and co-edited by Joe Dante from a screenplay by John Sayles, based on a story by Richard Robinson and Sayles. The film stars Bradford Dillman, Heather Menzies, Kevin McCarthy, Keenan Wynn, Barbara Steele, and Dick Miller. It tells the story of a river being infested by lethal, genetically altered piranha, threatening the lives of the local inhabitants and the visitors to a nearby summer resort.
Executive produced by Roger Corman, Piranha is the first installment in a series of low-budget B movies inspired by the film Jaws (1975), which had been a major success for Universal Pictures and director Steven Spielberg. Initially, Universal had considered obtaining an injunction to prevent Piranha being released, particularly as they had released Jaws 2 the same summer, but the lawsuit was dropped after Spielberg himself gave the film a positive comment in advance. Released on August 3, 1978, the film was a commercial success and later became a cult film. Piranha was followed by a sequel, Piranha II: The Spawning (1982), and two remakes, one in 1995 and another in 2010, which spawned its own sequel in 2012.
- ^ Chute, David (1984). "Dante's Inferno". Film Comment. 20 (3). New York: 22–27, 80. ProQuest 210263969.
- ^ Christopher T Koetting, Mind Warp!: The Fantastic True Story of Roger Corman's New World Pictures, Hemlock Books. 2009 p 146-147
- ^ Donahue, Suzanne Mary (1987). American film distribution : the changing marketplace. UMI Research Press. p. 294. ISBN 9780835717762. Please note figures are for rentals in US and Canada