Poster © Paramount Pictures. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
|
GenreAction, Sci-Fi & Thriller
RatedPG-13
Runtime1 hr 52 mins
ReleasedJune 10, 2011
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorJ. J. Abrams
StarringKyle Chandler, Elle Fanning, Joel Courtney
|
Super 8 (2011)
| ▶Stream It | ★The Numbers |
| 🎫Get Tickets | ✎Edit History |
| iIMDb Profile | %Rotten Tomatoes |
| WWikipedia | LLetterboxd |
| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
| Super 8's Details | |
| Genre | Action, Sci-Fi & Thriller |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Released | 06/09/2011 (Australia); 06/10/2011 (United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 1 hr 52 mins |
| Budget | $50M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Super 8's Interests | |
| General | Super 8 film, model kits, zombie makeup, train depots, a locket, small-town Ohio in 1979. |
| Music | Michael Giacchino. He even shows up on screen as one of the deputies. |
| Movies | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), The Goonies (1985). The bike-gang movies this one grew up on. |
| Television | Stranger Things. Kids, bikes, a small town, something wrong nearby. |
| Heroes | Charles. Writes, directs and yells about production value at every disaster. |
| Super 8's Crew | |
| Director | J. J. Abrams |
| Writers | J. J. Abrams |
| Producers | Steven Spielberg, Bryan Burk, J. J. Abrams |
| Cinematography | Larry Fong |
| Music | Michael Giacchino |
| Edited By | Mary Jo Markey, Maryann Brandon |
| Production | Amblin Entertainment, Bad Robot Productions |
| Distributed By | Paramount Pictures |
Super 8 plays like a movie actually made in 1979 for its first hour, and then the monster shows up and it turns into a regular 2011 one. The train crash says it all: it’s spectacular, and it goes on so long that boxcars are still exploding after you’ve stopped believing in physics. The creature is mostly shadows and noise, and when you finally get a good look, it’s less wonder than wet CGI. Before that, it’s terrific. The kids talk over each other like real kids, yelling, joking and arguing about production values. Elle Fanning steals the movie in her first rehearsal, turning a corny zombie scene into something so good the boys just stand there with their mouths open. Joel Courtney carries Joe’s grief for his mom quietly. It made $260.1 million worldwide on a reported $50 million. A 6.9 because the kid stuff is gold and the alien stuff is generic. $926 says you dig out an old camera this weekend and make your friends reenact a train crash with toy cars.
What works: The young cast feels completely real, and Elle Fanning’s rehearsal scene is one of the best moments in any summer movie.
What doesn’t: The creature is generic, the train crash goes on forever, and the last act trades the kids’ charm for routine monster chases.
Who it’s for: Anyone who grew up making backyard movies with friends, or wishes they had.
Spoilers
Joe walks into the creature’s underground lair to rescue Alice and talks to it face to face, and it lets them go. It builds a ship out of every scrap of metal in town, and Joe lets his mom’s locket fly off to join it, finally letting her go.
Summer 1979 in Lillian, Ohio. Joe Lamb (Joel Courtney), 14 and still grieving his mom, does the makeup for his friend Charles (Riley Griffiths), who is shooting a zombie movie on Super 8 for a film contest. Alice Dainard (Elle Fanning) signs on to star, which bugs Joe's dad, Deputy Jack Lamb (Kyle Chandler). One night at the train depot, mid-take, a pickup drives straight into an oncoming train and the whole thing jumps the tracks. The camera keeps rolling. Then the Air Force shows up, and strange things start happening all over town. J. J. Abrams directs. One hundred twelve minutes of bikes, friendship and something out there.
Kids with cameras and no curfew. Stay away from the tracks.
| Joel Courtney | Joseph "Joe" Francis Lamb |
| Elle Fanning | Alice Dainard |
| Riley Griffiths | Charles Kaznyk |
| Ryan Lee | Cary McCarthy |
| Gabriel Basso | Martin Read |
| Zach Mills | Preston Scott |
| Kyle Chandler | Deputy Jack Lamb |
| Ron Eldard | Louis Dainard |
| AJ Michalka | Jen Kaznyk |
| Joel McKinnon Miller | Mr. Kaznyk |
| Jessica Tuck | Mrs. Kaznyk |
| Brett Rice | Sheriff Pruitt |
| Michael Giacchino | Deputy Crawford |
| Michael Hitchcock | Deputy Rosko |
| Jay Scully | Deputy Skadden |
| Noah Emmerich | Colonel Nelec |
| Richard T. Jones | Overmyer |
| Bruce Greenwood | The Alien |
| David Gallagher | Donny |
| Glynn Turman | Dr. Thomas Woodward |
| Beau Knapp | Breen |
| Dan Castellaneta | Izzy |
| Caitriona Balfe | Elizabeth Lamb |
| Dale Dickey | Edie |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 18 October 2026 DataBot +40 Numbers refreshed: IMDb users 7.0 / 10 (384,433 votes) → 7.0 / 10 (384,455 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $260.1M; Domestic box office $127M; Opening weekend $35.5M; Profit / loss (est.) +$55M; Rotten Tomatoes 81%; CinemaScore B+; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 81% (296 reviews); Metacritic 72 / 100; CinemaScore B+; IMDb users 7.0 / 10 (384,433 votes); movie.guru score 6.8.
- (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.