Poster © Paramount Pictures. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreAdventure, Drama & Family
RatedPG
Runtime2 hr 6 mins
ReleasedNovember 23, 2011
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorMartin Scorsese
StarringBen Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Asa Butterfield
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Hugo (2011)
| ▶Stream It | ★The Numbers |
| 🎫Get Tickets | ✎Edit History |
| iIMDb Profile | %Rotten Tomatoes |
| WWikipedia | LLetterboxd |
| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
| Hugo's Details | |
| Genre | Adventure, Drama & Family |
| Rated | PG |
| Released | 10/10/2011 (NYFF); 11/23/2011 (United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 2 hr 6 mins |
| Budget | $150–170M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Hugo's Interests | |
| General | Clockwork, station cafés, heart-shaped keys, library books, croissants on the run, Paris in snow. |
| Music | Howard Shore. Accordions, waltzes and a whole lot of Paris charm. |
| Movies | Amélie (2001). More Paris whimsy, fewer clock towers. |
| Television | Doctor Who. Another hero who would rather fix a machine than talk about feelings. |
| Heroes | The Station Inspector's dog. Takes the job more seriously than anyone. |
| Hugo's Crew | |
| Director | Martin Scorsese |
| Writers | John Logan |
| Producers | Graham King, Timothy Headington, Martin Scorsese, Johnny Depp |
| Cinematography | Robert Richardson |
| Music | Howard Shore |
| Edited By | Thelma Schoonmaker |
| Production | Infinitum Nihil, GK Films |
| Distributed By | Paramount Pictures |
Martin Scorsese made a family movie for a reported $150 to $170 million, and a good chunk of it is a lecture about very old films. Kids hoping for a train station adventure get one for the first hour, then the movie slows down for a history lesson. Sacha Baron Cohen’s Station Inspector, with his leg brace and his angry dog, is a slapstick bit that gets repeated past the point of fun. Still, few movies look this good. The station is a giant clockwork world of steam, gears and golden light, and Asa Butterfield plays Hugo as a lonely kid who fixes broken things because he can’t fix his own life. Chloë Grace Moretz’s Isabelle is a bookworm who wants an adventure so badly she narrates her own. Ben Kingsley’s grumpy toy seller ends up carrying the whole film. It made $185.8 million worldwide. A 7.6 because it’s gorgeous and sincere, and also a little bit homework. $642 says you look at the inside of an old clock this week and feel weirdly emotional about it.
What works: The clockwork train station, Asa Butterfield’s lonely Hugo, and Ben Kingsley’s grumpy toy seller.
What doesn’t: The adventure stalls once the history lesson starts, and Sacha Baron Cohen’s slapstick inspector repeats the same bit too many times.
Who it’s for: Movie lovers and patient kids who like stories about tinkering, secrets and the magic of old films.
Spoilers
The grumpy toy seller turns out to be Georges Méliès, a pioneer of early cinema who gave up on his films after the war. Hugo and Isabelle help the world rediscover his work, the automaton turns out to be his, and Méliès gets a gala screening and a second chance.
Paris, 1931. Twelve-year-old Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) lives secretly inside the walls of a busy train station, winding its clocks and staying one step ahead of the Station Inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen). His late father (Jude Law) left him a broken mechanical man that can write, and Hugo is sure it holds a message, if he can just fix it. That means swiping parts from a grumpy toy booth owner, Georges (Ben Kingsley), who catches him, while Georges' goddaughter Isabelle (Chloë Grace Moretz) becomes his first real friend. Martin Scorsese directs. One hundred twenty-six minutes, a lot of gears.
Anyone who can fix a clock or keep a secret. Bonus points for both.
| Asa Butterfield | Hugo Cabret |
| Ben Kingsley | Georges Méliès / Papa Georges |
| Sacha Baron Cohen | Inspector Gustave Dasté |
| Chloë Grace Moretz | Isabelle |
| Ray Winstone | Claude Cabret |
| Emily Mortimer | Lisette |
| Jude Law | Mr. Cabret |
| Helen McCrory | Jehanne D'Alcy / Mama Jeanne |
| Michael Stuhlbarg | René Tabard |
| Christopher Lee | Monsieur Labisse |
| Frances de la Tour | Madame Emile |
| Richard Griffiths | Monsieur Frick |
| Kevin Eldon | Policeman |
| Angus Barnett | Cinema manager |
| Ben Addis | Salvador Dalí |
| Emil Lager | Django Reinhardt |
| Robert Gill | James Joyce |
| Marco Aponte | Train engineer assistant |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 18 October 2026 DataBot +40 Numbers refreshed: IMDb users 7.5 / 10 (351,926 votes) → 7.5 / 10 (351,944 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $185.8M; Domestic box office $73.9M; Opening weekend $11.4M; Profit / loss (est.) -$147.1M; Rotten Tomatoes 93%; CinemaScore B+; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 93% (232 reviews); Metacritic 83 / 100; CinemaScore B+; IMDb users 7.5 / 10 (351,926 votes); movie.guru score 8.1.
- (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.