The Thing (1982)

The Thing
Theatrical Performance
Domestic Box Office $14,451,058Details
International Box Office $792,898Details
Worldwide Box Office $15,243,956
OpusData ID: 31920100
Further financial details...

Metrics

Opening Weekend:$3,107,897 (21.5% of total gross)
Legs:4.65 (domestic box office/biggest weekend)
Domestic Share:94.8% (domestic box office/worldwide)
Theater counts:840 opening theaters/910 max. theaters, 3.2 weeks average run per theater
Infl. Adj. Dom. BO $53,021,732

Latest Ranking on Cumulative Box Office Lists

RecordRankAmount
All Time Domestic Box Office (Rank 4,701-4,800) 4,716 $14,451,058
All Time International Box Office (Rank 12,401-12,500) 12,442 $792,898
All Time Worldwide Box Office (Rank 6,501-6,600) 6,569 $15,243,956
All Time Domestic Box Office for R Movies (Rank 1,701-1,800) 1,755 $14,451,058
All Time International Box Office for R Movies (Rank 2,601-2,700) 2,628 $792,898
All Time Worldwide Box Office for R Movies (Rank 2,001-2,100) 2,090 $15,243,956

See the Box Office tab (Domestic) and International tab (International and Worldwide) for more Cumulative Box Office Records.


Movie Details

Domestic Releases: June 25th, 1982 (Wide) by Universal
International Releases: August 20th, 1982 (Limited) (New Zealand)
August 26th, 1982 (Wide) (United Kingdom)
November 11th, 1982 (Limited), released as Veio do Outro Mundo (Portugal)
November 19th, 2020 (Limited) (Australia)
February 24th, 2022 (Limited) (New Zealand)
... Show all releases
Video Release: 1983 by Universal Home Entertainment
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 109 minutes
Franchise: The Thing
Comparisons: Create your own comparison chart…
Keywords: Alien Invasion, Parasite, Doppelganger, Marooned, Isolation Horror, Monster, Remade, Remake, Set in Antarctica, Field Scientists
Source:Based on Fiction Book/Short Story
Genre:Horror
Production Method:Live Action
Creative Type:Science Fiction
Production Countries: United States
Languages: English

Ranking on other Records and Milestones

RecordRankAmountChart
Date		Days In
Release
Independence Day (All Movies, 3-Day, Inflation Adjusted) 263 $11,841,550 Jul 2, 1982 10

Compare this performance with other movies…

Domestic Cumulative Box Office Records

RecordRankRevenue
All Time Domestic Box Office (Rank 4,701-4,800) 4,716 $14,451,058
All Time Domestic Inflation Adjusted Box Office (Rank 3,201-3,300) 3,211 $53,021,732
All Time Domestic Non-Sequel Box Office (Rank 3,901-4,000) 3,993 $14,451,058
Top-grossing movies at the domestic box office first released in 1982 48 $14,451,058
All Time Domestic Box Office for Based on Fiction Book/Short Story Movies (Rank 1,001-1,100) 1,035 $14,451,058
All Time Domestic Box Office for Live Action Movies (Rank 4,101-4,200) 4,199 $14,451,058
All Time Domestic Box Office for Science Fiction Movies (Rank 401-500) 435 $14,451,058
All Time Domestic Box Office for Horror Movies (Rank 401-500) 417 $14,451,058
All Time Domestic Box Office for R Movies (Rank 1,701-1,800) 1,755 $14,451,058
All Time Domestic Box Office for Universal Movies (Rank 501-600) 577 $14,451,058

Weekend Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossWeek
Jun 25, 1982 8 $3,107,897   840 $3,700   $3,107,897 1
Jul 2, 1982 8 $2,973,027 -4% 910 $3,267   $8,367,389 2
Jul 9, 1982 9 $1,921,742 -35% 753 $2,552   $11,540,408 3
Jul 16, 1982 15 $1,073,578 -44% 440 $2,440   $13,782,838 4

Daily Box Office Performance

Weekly Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossWeek
Jun 25, 1982 8 $5,394,362   840 $6,422   $5,394,362 1
Jul 2, 1982 8 $4,224,304 -22% 910 $4,642   $9,618,666 2
Jul 9, 1982 9 $3,090,594 -27% 753 $4,104   $12,709,260 3
Jul 16, 1982 15 $1,307,738 -58% 440 $2,972   $14,016,998 4

Box Office Summary Per Territory

Territory Release
Date		 Opening
Weekend		 Opening
Weekend
Screens		 Maximum
Screens		 Theatrical
Engagements		 Total
Box Office		 Report
Date
Australia 11/19/2020 $1,052 1 1 3 $727,807 8/26/2024
New Zealand 8/20/1982 $0 0 2 10 $5,726 11/3/2025
Portugal 11/11/1982 $0 0 1 1 $1,166 7/25/2023
United Kingdom 8/26/1982 $0 0 144 144 $58,199 11/13/2022
 
International Total$792,898 11/3/2025

International Cumulative Box Office Records

RecordRankRevenue
All Time International Box Office (Rank 12,401-12,500) 12,442 $792,898
All Time International Non-Sequel Box Office (Rank 11,201-11,300) 11,259 $792,898
All Time International Box Office for Based on Fiction Book/Short Story Movies (Rank 1,601-1,700) 1,682 $792,898
All Time International Box Office for Live Action Movies (Rank 10,401-10,500) 10,438 $792,898
All Time International Box Office for Science Fiction Movies (Rank 601-700) 630 $792,898
All Time International Box Office for Horror Movies (Rank 601-700) 697 $792,898
All Time International Box Office for R Movies (Rank 2,601-2,700) 2,628 $792,898
All Time International Box Office for Universal Movies (Rank 401-500) 462 $792,898

Worldwide Cumulative Box Office Records

RecordRankRevenue
All Time Worldwide Box Office (Rank 6,501-6,600) 6,569 $15,243,956
All Time Worldwide Non-Sequel Box Office (Rank 5,601-5,700) 5,613 $15,243,956
Top 1982 Movies at the Worldwide Box Office 47 $15,243,956
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Based on Fiction Book/Short Story Movies (Rank 1,201-1,300) 1,278 $15,243,956
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Live Action Movies (Rank 5,701-5,800) 5,770 $15,243,956
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Science Fiction Movies (Rank 501-600) 518 $15,243,956
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Horror Movies (Rank 401-500) 459 $15,243,956
All Time Worldwide Box Office for R Movies (Rank 2,001-2,100) 2,090 $15,243,956
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Universal Movies (Rank 501-600) 589 $15,243,956

Weekly US Blu-ray Sales

DateRankUnits
this
Week		% ChangeTotal
Units		Spending
this
Week		Total
Spending		Weeks
in
Release
Apr 11, 2010198,777 8,777$94,264$94,2641,372
Sep 12, 2021314,885 646,992$305,143$7,403,1771,968
Sep 19, 202177,720 654,712$158,260$7,561,4371,969
May 19, 2024142,498-68% 751,058$50,135$8,935,0472,108
Jul 21, 202465,321 762,123$106,739$9,138,4382,117
Jul 28, 2024163,512 765,635$69,854$9,208,2922,118

Our DVD and Blu-ray sales estimates are based on weekly retail surveys, which we use to build a weekly market share estimate for each title we are tracking. The market share is converted into a weekly sales estimate based on industry reports on the overall size of the market, including reports published in Media Play News.

For example, if our weekly retail survey estimates that a particular title sold 1% of all units that week, and the industry reports sales of 1,500,000 units in total, we will estimate 15,000 units were sold of that title. The consumer spending estimate is based on the average sales price for the title in the retailers we survey.

We refine our estimates from week to week as more data becomes available. In particular, we adjust weekly sales figures for the quarter once the total market estimates are published by the Digital Entertainment Group. Figures will therefore fluctuate each week, and totals for individual titles can go up or down as we update our estimates.

Because sales figures are estimated based on sampling, they will be more accurate for higher-selling titles.

Leading Cast

Kurt Russell    R.J. MacRaedy

Supporting Cast

Keith David    Childs
Wilford Brimley    Dr. Blair
T.K. Carter    Nauls
Adrienne Barbeau    Computer Voice
Richard Masur    Clark
David Clennon    Palmer
Richard A. Dysart    Dr. Copper
Charles Hallahan    Norris
Joel Polis    Fuchs

For a description of the different acting role types we use to categorize acting perfomances, see our Glossary.

Production and Technical Credits

John Carpenter    Director
David Foster    Producer
Lawrence Turman    Producer
Stuart Cohen    Co-Producer
Wilbur Stark    Executive Producer
Larry Franco    Associate Producer
Dean Cundey    Director of Photography
Ennio Morricone    Composer
Rob Bottin    Special Make-up Effects
Albert Whitlock    Special Visual Effects by
Bill Lancaster    Screenwriter

  1. Summary
  2. News
  3. Box Office
  4. International
  5. Video Sales
  6. Cast & Crew
  7. Trailer

Metrics

Opening Weekend:$3,107,897 (21.5% of total gross)
Legs:4.65 (domestic box office/biggest weekend)
Domestic Share:94.8% (domestic box office/worldwide)
Theater counts:840 opening theaters/910 max. theaters, 3.2 weeks average run per theater
Infl. Adj. Dom. BO $53,021,732

Latest Ranking on Cumulative Box Office Lists

RecordRankAmount
All Time Domestic Box Office (Rank 4,701-4,800) 4,716 $14,451,058
All Time International Box Office (Rank 12,401-12,500) 12,442 $792,898
All Time Worldwide Box Office (Rank 6,501-6,600) 6,569 $15,243,956
All Time Domestic Box Office for R Movies (Rank 1,701-1,800) 1,755 $14,451,058
All Time International Box Office for R Movies (Rank 2,601-2,700) 2,628 $792,898
All Time Worldwide Box Office for R Movies (Rank 2,001-2,100) 2,090 $15,243,956

See the Box Office tab (Domestic) and International tab (International and Worldwide) for more Cumulative Box Office Records.


Movie Details

Domestic Releases: June 25th, 1982 (Wide) by Universal
International Releases: August 20th, 1982 (Limited) (New Zealand)
August 26th, 1982 (Wide) (United Kingdom)
November 11th, 1982 (Limited), released as Veio do Outro Mundo (Portugal)
November 19th, 2020 (Limited) (Australia)
February 24th, 2022 (Limited) (New Zealand)
... Show all releases
Video Release: 1983 by Universal Home Entertainment
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 109 minutes
Franchise: The Thing
Comparisons: Create your own comparison chart…
Keywords: Alien Invasion, Parasite, Doppelganger, Marooned, Isolation Horror, Monster, Remade, Remake, Set in Antarctica, Field Scientists
Source:Based on Fiction Book/Short Story
Genre:Horror
Production Method:Live Action
Creative Type:Science Fiction
Production Countries: United States
Languages: English

Ranking on other Records and Milestones

RecordRankAmountChart
Date		Days In
Release
Independence Day (All Movies, 3-Day, Inflation Adjusted) 263 $11,841,550 Jul 2, 1982 10

Leading Cast

Kurt Russell    R.J. MacRaedy

Supporting Cast

Keith David    Childs
Wilford Brimley    Dr. Blair
T.K. Carter    Nauls
Adrienne Barbeau    Computer Voice
Richard Masur    Clark
David Clennon    Palmer
Richard A. Dysart    Dr. Copper
Charles Hallahan    Norris
Joel Polis    Fuchs

For a description of the different acting role types we use to categorize acting perfomances, see our Glossary.

Production and Technical Credits

John Carpenter    Director
David Foster    Producer
Lawrence Turman    Producer
Stuart Cohen    Co-Producer
Wilbur Stark    Executive Producer
Larry Franco    Associate Producer
Dean Cundey    Director of Photography
Ennio Morricone    Composer
Rob Bottin    Special Make-up Effects
Albert Whitlock    Special Visual Effects by
Bill Lancaster    Screenwriter

Compare this performance with other movies…

Domestic Cumulative Box Office Records

RecordRankRevenue
All Time Domestic Box Office (Rank 4,701-4,800) 4,716 $14,451,058
All Time Domestic Inflation Adjusted Box Office (Rank 3,201-3,300) 3,211 $53,021,732
All Time Domestic Non-Sequel Box Office (Rank 3,901-4,000) 3,993 $14,451,058
Top-grossing movies at the domestic box office first released in 1982 48 $14,451,058
All Time Domestic Box Office for Based on Fiction Book/Short Story Movies (Rank 1,001-1,100) 1,035 $14,451,058
All Time Domestic Box Office for Live Action Movies (Rank 4,101-4,200) 4,199 $14,451,058
All Time Domestic Box Office for Science Fiction Movies (Rank 401-500) 435 $14,451,058
All Time Domestic Box Office for Horror Movies (Rank 401-500) 417 $14,451,058
All Time Domestic Box Office for R Movies (Rank 1,701-1,800) 1,755 $14,451,058
All Time Domestic Box Office for Universal Movies (Rank 501-600) 577 $14,451,058

Weekend Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossWeek
Jun 25, 1982 8 $3,107,897   840 $3,700   $3,107,897 1
Jul 2, 1982 8 $2,973,027 -4% 910 $3,267   $8,367,389 2
Jul 9, 1982 9 $1,921,742 -35% 753 $2,552   $11,540,408 3
Jul 16, 1982 15 $1,073,578 -44% 440 $2,440   $13,782,838 4

Daily Box Office Performance

Weekly Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossWeek
Jun 25, 1982 8 $5,394,362   840 $6,422   $5,394,362 1
Jul 2, 1982 8 $4,224,304 -22% 910 $4,642   $9,618,666 2
Jul 9, 1982 9 $3,090,594 -27% 753 $4,104   $12,709,260 3
Jul 16, 1982 15 $1,307,738 -58% 440 $2,972   $14,016,998 4

Box Office Summary Per Territory

Territory Release
Date		 Opening
Weekend		 Opening
Weekend
Screens		 Maximum
Screens		 Theatrical
Engagements		 Total
Box Office		 Report
Date
Australia 11/19/2020 $1,052 1 1 3 $727,807 8/26/2024
New Zealand 8/20/1982 $0 0 2 10 $5,726 11/3/2025
Portugal 11/11/1982 $0 0 1 1 $1,166 7/25/2023
United Kingdom 8/26/1982 $0 0 144 144 $58,199 11/13/2022
 
International Total$792,898 11/3/2025

International Cumulative Box Office Records

RecordRankRevenue
All Time International Box Office (Rank 12,401-12,500) 12,442 $792,898
All Time International Non-Sequel Box Office (Rank 11,201-11,300) 11,259 $792,898
All Time International Box Office for Based on Fiction Book/Short Story Movies (Rank 1,601-1,700) 1,682 $792,898
All Time International Box Office for Live Action Movies (Rank 10,401-10,500) 10,438 $792,898
All Time International Box Office for Science Fiction Movies (Rank 601-700) 630 $792,898
All Time International Box Office for Horror Movies (Rank 601-700) 697 $792,898
All Time International Box Office for R Movies (Rank 2,601-2,700) 2,628 $792,898
All Time International Box Office for Universal Movies (Rank 401-500) 462 $792,898

Worldwide Cumulative Box Office Records

RecordRankRevenue
All Time Worldwide Box Office (Rank 6,501-6,600) 6,569 $15,243,956
All Time Worldwide Non-Sequel Box Office (Rank 5,601-5,700) 5,613 $15,243,956
Top 1982 Movies at the Worldwide Box Office 47 $15,243,956
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Based on Fiction Book/Short Story Movies (Rank 1,201-1,300) 1,278 $15,243,956
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Live Action Movies (Rank 5,701-5,800) 5,770 $15,243,956
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Science Fiction Movies (Rank 501-600) 518 $15,243,956
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Horror Movies (Rank 401-500) 459 $15,243,956
All Time Worldwide Box Office for R Movies (Rank 2,001-2,100) 2,090 $15,243,956
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Universal Movies (Rank 501-600) 589 $15,243,956

Weekly US Blu-ray Sales

DateRankUnits
this
Week		% ChangeTotal
Units		Spending
this
Week		Total
Spending		Weeks
in
Release
Apr 11, 2010198,777 8,777$94,264$94,2641,372
Sep 12, 2021314,885 646,992$305,143$7,403,1771,968
Sep 19, 202177,720 654,712$158,260$7,561,4371,969
May 19, 2024142,498-68% 751,058$50,135$8,935,0472,108
Jul 21, 202465,321 762,123$106,739$9,138,4382,117
Jul 28, 2024163,512 765,635$69,854$9,208,2922,118

Our DVD and Blu-ray sales estimates are based on weekly retail surveys, which we use to build a weekly market share estimate for each title we are tracking. The market share is converted into a weekly sales estimate based on industry reports on the overall size of the market, including reports published in Media Play News.

For example, if our weekly retail survey estimates that a particular title sold 1% of all units that week, and the industry reports sales of 1,500,000 units in total, we will estimate 15,000 units were sold of that title. The consumer spending estimate is based on the average sales price for the title in the retailers we survey.

We refine our estimates from week to week as more data becomes available. In particular, we adjust weekly sales figures for the quarter once the total market estimates are published by the Digital Entertainment Group. Figures will therefore fluctuate each week, and totals for individual titles can go up or down as we update our estimates.

Because sales figures are estimated based on sampling, they will be more accurate for higher-selling titles.