Lethal Weapon

Name: Lethal Weapon
Genre: Action, Thriller, Crime
Released: 1987-03-06
Cast: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitchell Ryan, Tom Atkins

1987 | 110 min | Action, Thriller, Crime

Saturday Special

Why it’s a Saturday Special

Audiences rate it highly (7.3 out of 10), it made about 8 times its budget and it's still drawing plenty of interest. A strong pick for the weekend.

Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.

Is it for you?

Who'll love it: Made for crime fans, anyone who likes to be kept guessing and action fans. If you loved Lethal Weapon 2 or Hot Fuzz, start here.
The mood: Tense, gritty.
The pace: Fast-moving, at 1 hr 50 min.
What might put you off: Rated R: meant for adults.

A veteran cop and an unstable detective become partners who must put their differences aside in order to bring down a heroin-smuggling ring run by ex-Special Forces.

How it earned its rating

CriticsSolid
80% on Rotten Tomatoes
AudiencesStrong
7.3 out of 10
AwardsBelow par
Nominated for 1 Oscar.
Box office & staying powerStrong
$120 million worldwide on a $15 million budget; still draws a steady audience long after release
Buzz & cultural impactStrong
About 395K people sought it out in the past year