Popeye (film)

This article is about the 1980 live-action film. For the 1933 cartoon that was billed as a Betty Boop cartoon, see Popeye the Sailor (film).
Popeye
Popeye standing back to back with Olive, swee'pea crawls at his feet.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRobert Altman
Screenplay byJules Feiffer
Based onPopeye
by E. C. Segar
Produced byRobert Evans
StarringRobin Williams
Shelley Duvall
CinematographyGiuseppe Rotunno
Edited byJohn W. Holmes
David A. Simmons
Music byHarry Nilsson
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • December 6, 1980 (1980-12-06) (Los Angeles)
  • December 12, 1980 (1980-12-12) (United States)
Running time
114 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20 million[1]
Box office$60 million[2]

Popeye is a 1980 American musical comedy film directed by Robert Altman and produced by Paramount Pictures and Walt Disney Productions. It is based on E. C. Segar's Popeye comics character. The script was written by Jules Feiffer, and stars Robin Williams[3] as Popeye the Sailor Man and Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl. Its story follows Popeye's adventures as he arrives in the town of Sweethaven.

The film premiered December 6, 1980, in Los Angeles, California, and opened in the rest of the United States the following week, distributed by Paramount, with Disney handling international distribution through Buena Vista International.[4] It grossed $6.3 million in its opening weekend, and $49.8 million worldwide, against a budget of $20 million.[5] It received negative reviews from critics when it was first released,[6] but has received improved reviews over time.[7][8]

  1. ^ "Popeye (1980) – Financial Information". The Numbers.
  2. ^ O'Brien, Daniel (1995). Robert Altman: Hollywood Survivor. New York: Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-0791-9.
  3. ^ Spitznagel, Eric (August 12, 2014). "Popeye Is the Best Movie Robin Williams Ever Made". Vanity Fair. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  4. ^ "Popeye 40th Anniversary Blu-ray Extra Goes Behind the Robin Williams Classic [Exclusive]". Movie Web. 2 December 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
  5. ^ "Popeye". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Carr was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference tomatoes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference metacritic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).