Free Willy

1993 | Adventure, Drama, Family, Animal

Synopsis

When a boy learns that a beloved killer whale is to be killed by the aquarium owners, the boy risks everything to free the whale.

Scores

Overall Score
87.2
Popularity Percentile (Year)
92.3%
Box Office Percentile (Year)
95.6%
Review Aggregate
61.1

Critic Consensus

70.4% Fresh • 27 critic reviews

Critic reception is mixed, with 70% of 27 logged reviews marked Fresh. Across reviews, critics repeatedly emphasize family-friendly, lighthearted, character-driven. Common reservations focus on execution consistency, even when reviewers praise standout elements.

family-friendlylightheartedcharacter-drivenemotionalupliftingvisually striking

Cast

CastYearReported SalaryInflation AdjustedNotes
Jason James Richter1993$1,438,000$3,121,000(est)
Lori Petty1993$885,000$1,921,000(est)
Jayne Atkinson1993$666,000$1,447,000(est)
August Schellenberg1993$545,000$1,183,000(est)
Michael Madsen1993$466,000$1,012,000(est)

Aggregated Reviews

Rotten Tomatoes critic score71.0
RT critic review count31
Rotten Tomatoes audience score50.0
RT audience rating count250,000
IMDb rating6.1
IMDb votes87,246

Box Office ?

CategoryYearReportedInflation Adjusted
Domestic1993$77,698,624$168,678,610
International1993N/AN/A
Worldwide1993$77,698,624$168,678,610

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 Revenue1993$38,849,312$84,339,305
Digital Rentals ?1993N/AN/A
Digital Purchases ?1993N/AN/A
Physical Rentals ?1993$55,316,000$120,087,403
Physical Purchases ?1993$44,449,000$96,495,860
TV & Streaming Revenue1993$21,755,615$47,230,011
Total Revenues1993$160,369,927$348,152,579
Expenses
Budget ?1993$20,000,000$43,418,687
Print & Advertising (P&A) ?1993$14,288,000 (est)$31,018,310 (est)
Participations1993$24,055,000$52,221,825
Residuals ?1993$8,418,000$18,274,925
Interest & Overhead1993$4,000,000$8,683,737
Total Expenses1993$70,761,000$153,617,484
Movie Net Profit or Loss1993$89,608,927$194,535,095

Similar Movies

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PosterMovieYearMatchOverallEst. Profit
Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home posterFree Willy 2: The Adventure Home1995Shared franchise (1)66.1$33,469,834
Free Willy 3: The Rescue posterFree Willy 3: The Rescue1997Shared franchise (1)54.6$22,530,685
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Chicken Run posterChicken Run2000Shared genres: 491.3$77,924,957
Horton Hears a Who! posterHorton Hears a Who!2008Shared genres: 490.4$27,161,307