Blue Thunder

1983 | Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller, Aviation

Synopsis

The cop test pilot for an experimental police helicopter learns the sinister implications of the new vehicle.

Scores

Overall Score
74.3
Popularity Percentile (Year)
67.8%
Box Office Percentile (Year)
87.2%
Review Aggregate
66.5

Critic Consensus

71.4% Fresh • 14 critic reviews

Critic reception is mixed, with 71% of 14 logged reviews marked Fresh. Across reviews, critics repeatedly emphasize political, coming of age, character-driven. Common reservations focus on execution consistency, even when reviewers praise standout elements.

politicalcoming of agecharacter-drivensuspensefulaction-packedemotional

Cast

CastYearReported SalaryInflation AdjustedNotes
Roy Scheider1983$1,582,000$4,981,000(est)
Warren Oates1983$974,000$3,066,000(est)
Candy Clark1983$733,000$2,309,000(est)
Daniel Stern1983$599,000$1,888,000(est)
Malcolm McDowell1983$513,000$1,615,000(est)

Aggregated Reviews

Rotten Tomatoes critic score79.0
RT critic review count24
Rotten Tomatoes audience score54.0
RT audience rating count5,000
IMDb rating6.4
IMDb votes24,732

Box Office ?

CategoryYearReportedInflation Adjusted
Domestic1983$42,313,354$133,270,072
International1983N/AN/A
Worldwide1983$42,313,354$133,270,072

Earnings / Profitability

Estimated net revenues and net expenses for films based on reported and estimated numbers. This income statement should be considered most viable for the first 24 months after the inital movie's release (ie after most lucrative pay windows).
CategoryYearReportedInflation Adjusted
Revenues
Theatrical Net Revenue1983$21,156,677$66,635,036
Digital Rentals ?1983N/AN/A
Digital Purchases ?1983N/AN/A
Physical Rentals ?1983$11,888,000$37,442,426
Physical Purchases ?1983$8,216,000$25,877,100
TV & Streaming Revenue1983$10,578,338$33,317,518
Total Revenues1983$51,839,016$163,272,080
Expenses
Budget ?1983$22,000,000$69,291,165
Print & Advertising (P&A) ? source1983$8,000,000$25,196,787
Participations1983$2,074,000$6,532,267
Residuals ?1983$1,986,000$6,255,102
Interest & Overhead1983$4,400,000$13,858,233
Total Expenses1983$38,460,000$121,133,554
Movie Net Profit or Loss1983$13,379,016$42,138,526

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