Poster © DreamWorks Pictures. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
|
GenreComedy, Drama & Romance
RatedPG-13
Runtime2 hr 8 mins
ReleasedJune 18, 2004
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorSteven Spielberg
StarringTom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stanley Tucci
|
The Terminal (2004)
| ▶Stream It | ★The Numbers |
| 🎫Get Tickets | ✎Edit History |
| iIMDb Profile | %Rotten Tomatoes |
| WWikipedia | LLetterboxd |
| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
| The Terminal's Details | |
| Genre | Comedy, Drama & Romance |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Released | 06/18/2004 |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 2 hr 8 mins |
| Budget | $60M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| The Terminal's Interests | |
| General | Luggage carts, food courts, quarters, a gate under renovation, a peanut can he never lets go of. |
| Music | John Williams, with a clarinet that sounds a long way from home. |
| Movies | Up in the Air (2009). Another guy who basically lives at the airport. |
| Television | Every flight delay announcement ever. Viktor has heard them all. |
| Heroes | Gupta, the janitor. Grumpy, hilarious and watching everyone. |
| The Terminal's Crew | |
| Director | Steven Spielberg |
| Writers | Sacha Gervasi, Jeff Nathanson, Andrew Niccol (story), Sacha Gervasi (story) |
| Producers | Walter F. Parkes, Laurie MacDonald, Steven Spielberg |
| Cinematography | Janusz Kamiński |
| Music | John Williams |
| Edited By | Michael Kahn |
| Production | Amblin Entertainment, Parkes/MacDonald Productions |
| Distributed By | DreamWorks Pictures |
Tom Hanks dips crackers in ketchup and mustard packets for dinner, and somehow that’s the most believable part of this movie. Spielberg starts with a sweet idea, a man stuck in an airport with nowhere to go, then stuffs it with subplots. The romance with Catherine Zeta-Jones goes nowhere and seems to know it. Stanley Tucci’s airport boss is a sitcom villain who wandered into the wrong movie. And 128 minutes is a long layover. Still, Hanks is so committed to Viktor that you buy it anyway: the broken English, the luggage cart hustle, the way he turns an empty gate into a home. Kumar Pallana’s janitor is a comedy secret weapon, and the subplot where Viktor plays matchmaker for Diego Luna is cuter than the main romance. It made $219.1 million worldwide, and its movie.guru score is a 5.9, right around average. A 6.0 because it’s warm and watchable and twice as polite as it needs to be. $446 says the next time your flight is delayed you start eyeing the luggage carts like a side hustle.
What works: Tom Hanks fully commits to Viktor, and the airport staff, especially Kumar Pallana’s janitor, make the side stories fun.
What doesn’t: The Catherine Zeta-Jones romance goes nowhere, Stanley Tucci’s villain is sitcom-thin, and the movie runs too long for its idea.
Who it’s for: Anyone who has been stuck in an airport overnight, and families looking for something gentle everybody can watch together.
Spoilers
Viktor came to New York to get one last jazz autograph for his late father’s collection. When the war at home ends, the airport staff help him get past Dixon, he gets the signature, and he heads home, while Amelia goes back to the married man she kept waiting on.
Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks) lands at JFK airport in New York just as his home country, Krakozhia, falls apart in a coup. Overnight his passport is worthless. He can't enter the US and he can't fly home, so airport boss Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci) tells him to wait in the international terminal. Viktor, who barely speaks English, takes that literally. He moves into an empty gate, collects luggage carts for coins and makes friends with the staff, while flight attendant Amelia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) keeps passing through. Steven Spielberg directs. One hundred twenty-eight minutes, no boarding pass.
Anyone stuck on a long layover. Viktor has tips.
Flight Attendant Amelia Warrenphoto: Margaret Gardiner, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Acting Field Commissionerphoto: Raph_PH, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Food Service Deliverer Enrique Cruzphoto: Harald Krichel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Judge Thurmanphoto: VIP IGNITE LIVE, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
| Tom Hanks | Viktor Navorski |
| Catherine Zeta-Jones | Flight Attendant Amelia Warren |
| Stanley Tucci | U.S. Customs and Border Protection Acting Field Commissioner |
| Barry Shabaka Henley | U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Judge Thurman |
| Kumar Pallana | Janitor Gupta Rajan |
| Diego Luna | Food Service Deliverer Enrique Cruz |
| Chi McBride | Baggage Handler Joe Mulroy |
| Zoe Saldaña | U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Dolores Torres |
| Eddie Jones | U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Richard Salc |
| Corey Reynolds | U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Waylin |
| Jude Ciccolella | Karl Iverson |
| Guillermo Diaz | Bobby Alima |
| Rini Bell | Nadia |
| Valery Nikolaev | Milodragovich |
| Michael Nouri | Max |
| Benny Golson | Himself |
| Scott Adsit | Cab Driver |
| Ian Finlay | the officer |
| Mark Ivanir | Goran |
| Dan Finnerty | Cliff |
| Stephen Mendel | First Class Steward |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 18 October 2026 DataBot +40 Numbers refreshed: IMDb users 7.4 / 10 (543,657 votes) → 7.4 / 10 (543,683 votes).
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $219.1M; Domestic box office $77.9M; Opening weekend $19.1M; Profit / loss (est.) +$19.6M; Rotten Tomatoes 61%; CinemaScore B+; box office chart updated; Rotten Tomatoes critics 61% (206 reviews); Metacritic 55 / 100; CinemaScore B+; IMDb users 7.4 / 10 (543,657 votes); movie.guru score 5.9.
- (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.