Poster © Universal Pictures. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreAction, Drama & Sci-Fi
RatedPG-13
Runtime1 hr 59 mins
ReleasedJuly 29, 2011
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorJon Favreau
StarringDaniel Craig, Harrison Ford, Olivia Wilde
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Cowboys & Aliens (2011)
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| iIMDb Profile | %Rotten Tomatoes |
| WWikipedia | LLetterboxd |
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| Cowboys & Aliens's Details | |
| Genre | Action, Drama & Sci-Fi |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Released | 07/23/2011 (San Diego Comic-Con); 07/29/2011 (United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 1 hr 59 mins |
| Budget | $163M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | Cowboys & Aliens by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Cowboys & Aliens's Interests | |
| General | Mystery wrist gadgets, six-shooters, dusty saloons, posses, things in the sky that are not birds. |
| Music | Harry Gregson-Williams |
| Movies | Iron Man (2008). Same director, different kind of armor. |
| Television | Westworld. Cowboys plus sci-fi, the robot version. |
| Heroes | Doc (Sam Rockwell). Runs the saloon, did not sign up for any of this. |
| Cowboys & Aliens's Crew | |
| Director | Jon Favreau |
| Writers | Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, Damon Lindelof, Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Mark Fergus (story), Hawk Ostby (story), Steve Oedekerk (story) |
| Producers | Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Alex Kurtzman, Roberto Orci, Scott Mitchell Rosenberg |
| Cinematography | Matthew Libatique |
| Music | Harry Gregson-Williams |
| Edited By | Dan Lebental |
| Production | Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, Reliance Entertainment, Relativity Media, Imagine Entertainment, Kurtzman/Orci, Paper Products, Fairview Entertainment, Platinum Studios |
| Distributed By | Universal Pictures (United States and Canada), Paramount Pictures (International) |
Put cowboys and aliens in one title and you’ve promised a good time, so it’s strange how grimly this movie keeps that promise. Jon Favreau shoots it straight, like a classic western where the bad guys happen to have spaceships, and almost nobody cracks a smile. Daniel Craig is great at squinting, and his Jake is a man with no memory and a glowing bracelet that does the interesting work for him. Harrison Ford plays the cattle baron like he’s annoyed somebody woke him up. Sam Rockwell is the only one who seems to know this is supposed to be fun. Olivia Wilde gets the biggest mystery and the least to do with it. The aliens are slimy, generic monsters who want gold for reasons the script barely explains. The night raids look great, though. It made $174.8 million worldwide on a reported $163M. A 4.1 because a silly idea deserved a much sillier movie. $59.33 says you see a chunky metal bracelet in a gift shop this week and check it for a hidden laser.
What works: Harrison Ford’s grumpy cattle baron and a few great-looking night raids where the alien ships swoop over town.
What doesn’t: It takes a gloriously silly premise completely seriously, and the aliens are bland monsters with fuzzy motives.
Who it’s for: Western fans who don’t mind a sci-fi detour, and fans of Daniel Craig’s best squint.
Spoilers
Ella turns out to be an alien herself, the last of a people the invaders wiped out, and she gives her life carrying Jake’s bracelet weapon into the mothership to destroy it. With the kidnapped townsfolk rescued, the sheriff and Dolarhyde agree to say Jake died in the fight, and he rides off alone.
New Mexico Territory, 1873. A man (Daniel Craig) wakes up in the desert with no memory, a fresh wound, and a strange metal bracelet locked on his wrist. He drifts into the town of Absolution, where Sheriff Taggart (Keith Carradine) recognizes him as the wanted outlaw Jake Lonergan. Cattle baron Woodrow Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford) wants Jake too, since Jake stole his gold, and Dolarhyde's spoiled son Percy (Paul Dano) is already headed for trial. A mysterious woman, Ella (Olivia Wilde), keeps watching. Then lights show up in the night sky. Jon Favreau directs. One hundred eighteen minutes, saddle up.
Anyone who can ride, shoot and look up. Bring a lasso.
| Daniel Craig | Jake Lonergan |
| Harrison Ford | Woodrow Dolarhyde |
| Olivia Wilde | Ella Swenson |
| Sam Rockwell | Doc |
| Adam Beach | Nat Colorado |
| Paul Dano | Percy Dolarhyde |
| Noah Ringer | Emmett Taggart |
| Keith Carradine | Sheriff John Taggart |
| Clancy Brown | Meacham |
| Walton Goggins | Hunt |
| Abigail Spencer | Alice Wills |
| Ana de la Reguera | María |
| Raoul Trujillo | Black Knife |
| David O'Hara | Pat Dolan |
| Wyatt Russell | Little Mickey |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $174.8M; Domestic box office $100.2M; Opening weekend $36.4M; Profit / loss (est.) -$157.1M; Rotten Tomatoes 44%; CinemaScore B; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 44% (256 reviews); Metacritic 50 / 100; CinemaScore B; IMDb users 6.0 / 10 (244,214 votes); movie.guru score 3.6.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.