Synopsis
Ernest P. Worrell is a bank janitor sent to jail when people mistake his identity for a look-alike.
Scores
Overall Score
63.8
Popularity Percentile (Year)
66.9%
Box Office Percentile (Year)
76.2%
Review Aggregate
35.0
Critic Consensus
Critic reception is largely negative, with 25% of 4 logged reviews marked Fresh. Across reviews, critics repeatedly emphasize funny, family-friendly, character-driven. Many reviews cite execution consistency as the main reasons it falls short.
funnyfamily-friendlycharacter-drivenemotionalvisually strikingthought-provoking
Cast
| Cast | Year | Reported Salary | Inflation Adjusted | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Varney | 1990 | $891,000 | $2,139,000 | (est) |
| Gailard Sartain | 1990 | $549,000 | $1,317,000 | (est) |
Aggregated Reviews
Rotten Tomatoes critic score11.0
RT critic review count9
Rotten Tomatoes audience score49.0
RT audience rating count25,000
IMDb rating5.4
IMDb votes10,490
Box Office ?
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | 1990 | $25,029,569 | $60,074,796 |
| International | 1990 | N/A | N/A |
| Worldwide | 1990 | $25,029,569 | $60,074,796 |
Earnings / Profitability
| Category | Year | Reported | Inflation Adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues | |||
| Theatrical Net Revenue | 1990 | $12,514,784 | $30,037,398 |
| Digital Rentals ? | 1990 | N/A | N/A |
| Digital Purchases ? | 1990 | N/A | N/A |
| Physical Rentals ? | 1990 | $39,045,000 | $93,713,975 |
| Physical Purchases ? | 1990 | $21,167,000 | $50,804,039 |
| TV & Streaming Revenue | 1990 | $6,257,392 | $15,018,699 |
| Total Revenues | 1990 | $78,984,177 | $189,574,111 |
| Expenses | |||
| Budget ? | 1990 | $9,000,000 | $21,601,377 |
| Print & Advertising (P&A) ? | 1990 | $6,780,000 (est) | $16,273,037 (est) |
| Participations | 1990 | $6,319,000 | $15,166,567 |
| Residuals ? | 1990 | $4,747,000 | $11,393,526 |
| Interest & Overhead | 1990 | $1,800,000 | $4,320,275 |
| Total Expenses | 1990 | $28,646,000 | $68,754,783 |
| Movie Net Profit or Loss | 1990 | $50,338,177 | $120,819,327 |
Similar Movies
| Poster | Movie | Year | Match | Overall | Est. Profit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Ernest Saves Christmas | 1988 | Shared franchise (1) | 71.2 | $43,642,582 |
 | Ernest Goes to Camp | 1987 | Shared franchise (1) | 68.8 | $37,977,036 |
 | Ernest Scared Stupid | 1991 | Shared franchise (1) | 63.1 | $32,888,027 |
 | Ernest Rides Again | 1993 | Shared franchise (1) | 23.3 | $8,163,026 |
 | Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 | 2015 | Shared genres: 4 | 82.4 | $16,067,656 |