Airplane! (1980)
What's slower than a speeding bullet, and able to hit tall buildings at a single bound?
An ex-fighter pilot is forced to take over the controls of an airliner when the flight crew succumbs to food poisoning.
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| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 27 June 1980 |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Director | Jim Abrahams |
| Starring | Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty and Leslie Nielsen |
| Runtime | 88 min |
| Rated | PG |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 8.4/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 97% · Metacritic 78/100 · TMDB users 7.3/10 |
| Budget | $4 million |
Where to watch Airplane!
Airplane! is streaming on Fubo in the US. It is also on Paramount+ ($13.99 a month). If that is the only reason to subscribe, one month of Paramount+ is $13.99 at list price.
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Rent or buy
You can rent Airplane! on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Fandango at Home and JustWatch TV Store. It is also for sale on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch Airplane! in 8 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Austria | Skygo, Paramount+ |
| Cuba | Prime Video |
| France | Paramount+ |
| Germany | Paramount+, Skygo |
| Ireland | Paramount+ |
| Italy | Skygo, Paramount+, Now TV |
| Switzerland | Paramount+ |
| United Kingdom | Paramount+ |
Subscription, free and ad-supported services we track; prices where Binge Boss has a price list for the country. "About" marks a price the service bills in another currency, converted at the day's rate. All countries as data.
What kind of watch this is
Jim Abrahams directs Airplane! with a straight face, which is the only way to make 88 minutes of non-stop absurdity land. The film operates on a single, relentless premise: if a plane crash is the joke, every single part of the plane is also a joke. You will not find a quiet moment here. The comedy is dense, layered, and refuses to let you breathe between gags.
What the critics said
Critics agreed the film works, even if they shrugged while laughing. Rotten Tomatoes reports a 97% positive score as of October 2024, while Metacritic sits at 78 out of 100 as of August 2025. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times called it "sophomoric, obvious, predictable, corny, and quite often very funny." Janet Maslin of The New York Times found it "just what the doctor ordered.
How it did with audiences
The budget was $4 million. It took in $83 million in the United States. That ratio is the kind of thing that gets finance people to stop talking about margins and start talking about miracles. On TMDB, users rate it 7.3 out of 10.
What came next for the cast
Leslie Nielsen arrived with a face carved for serious drama, courtesy of Forbidden Planet and The Poseidon Adventure. He left with a deadpan that powered The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! and eventually a role in Scary Movie 4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar brought his own gravity, having already starred in Game of Death. His post-1980 credits include Fletch and BASEketball, a film that proves comedy can be a very strange corridor. The credits do not say Airplane! caused these shifts. They just list what happened next.
Where it left its mark
Peter Farrelly describes his first viewing like a Led Zeppelin concert, a specific kind of comedy that now has a name. He and his writing partner Bennett Yellin sent a script to David Zucker, who gave them their first Hollywood job. Farrelly claims the Zuckers are the reason the Farrelly Brothers exist at all. The film’s influence ripples through pop culture, from Family Guy gags to Ted’s disco flashback. Even real-world aviation has borrowed its lines.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched Airplane!.
Sources
- Airplane! on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q497256 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Airplane!” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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