Open Season (2006 film)

Open Season
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Screenplay by
Story by
Based on
An original story
by
Produced byMichelle Murdocca
Starring
Edited byPamela Ziegenhagen-Shefland
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed bySony Pictures Releasing[1]
Release dates
  • September 25, 2006 (2006-09-25) (Greek Theatre)
  • September 29, 2006 (2006-09-29) (United States)
  • October 13, 2006 (2006-10-13) (United Kingdom)
Running time
86 minutes[3]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$85 million[4]
Box office$200.8 million[4]

Open Season is a 2006 American animated adventure comedy film[5] directed by Roger Allers and Jill Culton and co-directed by Anthony Stacchi (in Culton and Stacchi's directorial debuts), from a screenplay by Nat Mauldin and the writing team of Steve Bencich and Ron J. Friedman, and a screen story by Culton and Stacchi, based on an original idea by Steve Moore and John B. Carls. Produced by Sony Pictures Animation (as the first film from the company) and Columbia Pictures, the film stars the voices of Martin Lawrence, Ashton Kutcher, Gary Sinise, and Debra Messing. Its plot follows Boog, a domesticated grizzly bear, who is let go into the woods, and teams up with a one-antlered mule deer named Elliot to return to his old home before open season starts.

Open Season was released to theaters in the United States by Sony Pictures Releasing on September 29, 2006. It has also been released in the IMAX 3D format.[6] Despite receiving mixed reviews from both film critics and audiences, it was a box office success, earning $200.8 million on an $85 million budget. A video game for the film was released on multiple platforms. The film was followed by two direct-to-video sequels and one direct-to-video prequel: Open Season 2 (2008), Open Season 3 (2010), and Open Season: Scared Silly (2015). A 2D animated series Open Season: Call of Nature was released in 2023.[7]

  1. ^ a b "Open Season". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. Archived from the original on June 5, 2022. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  2. ^ Hopewell, John; Lang, Jamie (June 15, 2017). "Why Sony Pictures Animation Still Needs a Big Hit – and Where It Might Come From". Variety. Archived from the original on April 15, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2018. Producing animated features since 2006's "Open Season," Sony Pictures Animation has still to fire up a "Despicable Me" size franchise which can, as Belson out, provide a transformational moment, defining a studio's style.
  3. ^ "Open Season". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on January 28, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Open Season (2006)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 12, 2019. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  5. ^ "Open Season (2006)". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on July 27, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2022.
  6. ^ Ball, Ryan (October 4, 2006). "Open Season Bears Fruit in IMAX 3D". Animation Magazine. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  7. ^ Milligan, Mercedes (August 1, 2023). "New 'Open Season' Series in the Works at 9 Story". Animation Magazine. Retrieved June 27, 2024.