Pulp Fiction (1994)
You won’t know the facts until you’ve seen the fiction.
A burger-loving hit man, his philosophical partner, a drug-addled gangster's moll and a washed-up boxer converge in this sprawling, comedic crime caper. Their adventures unfurl in three stories that ingeniously trip back and forth in time.
| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 10 September 1994 |
| Genre | Thriller, Crime, Comedy |
| Director | Quentin Tarantino |
| Starring | John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman |
| Runtime | 154 min |
| Rated | R |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 9.3 · Metacritic 95/100 · Rotten Tomatoes 92% · IMDb 8.8/10 · TMDB users 8.5/10 |
| Budget | $8 million |
| Box office | $214 million worldwide |
Where to watch Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction is streaming on Prime Video ($8.99 a month) in the US. It is also on Fubo and Paramount+ ($13.99 a month). If that is the only reason to subscribe, one month of Prime Video is $8.99 at list price.
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What kind of watch this is
Pulp Fiction is a 1994 crime thriller that treats time as a suggestion rather than a rule. It stitches together three stories that trip back and forth, forcing the audience to piece the puzzle together while the characters just keep talking. The conversations carry the weight, not the action. It is a 154-minute exercise in style. The structure is a circle, a trick that works because the dialogue is so good you forget you are solving a riddle.
What the critics said
The critical consensus is loud, though not monolithic. Rotten Tomatoes reported a 92% score based on 185 reviews as of January 2026, with an average rating of 9.3 out of 10. Metacritic’s Metascore reached 95 out of 100 in the same period, a number that signals universal acclaim. Roger Ebert praised the screenplay’s "scruffy, fanzine way," while Richard Corliss of Time argued it "towers over the year's other movies." The LA Times offered a dissenting voice, with Kenneth Turan noting a sense of "creative desperation." That divide remains, which is fitting for a film that refuses to sit still.
How it did with audiences
It cost $8 million and took in $108 million in the United States, with $214 million worldwide. In film accounting, that is a landslide; in any other industry, it is a modest mid-year report. TMDB users give it a score of 8.5. IMDb reports an 8.8/10 weighted average as of March 2026.
Awards
Pulp Fiction collected 23 awards from 45 nominations. The Palme d'Or and the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay stand out, the latter shared between Tarantino and Avary. Tarantino swept Best Director honors from the National Society of Film Critics, the National Board of Review, and the New York and Los Angeles critics circles. It is a comprehensive list, missing nothing except perhaps the SAG Awards, which the film did not win.
Where it left its mark
Gene Siskel argued in 1995 that the film challenged the ossification of American movies with their brutal formulas. He compared its violent intensity to watershed classics like Psycho and A Clockwork Orange, noting each shook up a tired industry. Ken Dancyger observes its style emerges from movie life rather than real life, demanding deep knowledge of gangster and horror forms from the audience. That shared context creates a different experience when those forms are altered. Bob Dole accused the film of promoting the romance of heroin in 1996, though he had not seen it. Paula Rabinowitz notes it resurrected John Travolta and film noir.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched Pulp Fiction.
Sources
- Pulp Fiction on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q104123 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Pulp Fiction” 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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