The Birds (1963)
...and remember, the next scream you hear may be your own!
Thousands of birds flock into a seaside town and terrorize the residents in a series of deadly attacks.
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| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 28 March 1963 |
| Genre | Horror, Thriller |
| Director | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Starring | Tippi Hedren, Rod Taylor and Jessica Tandy |
| Runtime | 119 min |
| Rated | NR |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 8.2/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 94% · Metacritic 90/100 · IMDb 7.6/10 · TMDB users 7.5/10 |
| Budget | $3 million |
| Box office | $11 million worldwide |
Where to watch The Birds
The Birds is streaming on Peacock ($16.99 a month) in the US. If that is the only reason to subscribe, one month of Peacock is $16.99 at list price.
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Rent or buy
You can rent or buy The Birds on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch The Birds in 29 other countries
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| Colombia | Max $24900 COP |
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| Italy | Skygo, Now TV |
| Jamaica | Max |
| Japan | U-NEXT ¥2189 JPY |
| Mexico | Max $149 MXN |
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| Panama | Max $8.29 |
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| Peru | Max S/35.90 |
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What kind of watch this is
Hitchcock’s 1963 horror thriller runs 119 minutes. The hook is simple: thousands of birds attack a seaside town, and the residents cannot stop them. The tone is cold and relentless, stripping away comfort until the air itself feels hostile. There is no comfort in the corners, no safe distance from the sky. It is a film that turns the ordinary into a threat, asking you to watch the ceiling with suspicion.
What the critics said
Critics were divided upon its 1963 release, a split that never fully healed. Rotten Tomatoes lists a 94% Tomatometer score as of July 2024, while Metacritic stands at 90/100 as of July 2025. Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called it a horror film that raises hackles. He was unsure if the birds were allegorical, noting it isn’t Hitchcock’s style to inject social significance. Daphne du Maurier disliked the film because Hitchcock changed the location from an English farm to a California beach. Andrei Tarkovsky later named it a masterpiece. Not everyone agreed. Stanley Kauffmann of The New Republic called it the worst thriller he could remember.
How it did with audiences
The film cost $3 million to make and took in $11 million worldwide. On TMDB, users give it a 7.5 out of 10. IMDb watchers have settled on a 7.6/10 weighted average as of April 2026. The numbers are modest, but the impact has outlasted the budget.
Where it left its mark
Hitchcock’s feathered menace outlasted its own shock. The film became a blueprint for a generation of horror directors, with names like Guillermo del Toro, John Carpenter, and Roger Corman citing its influence. Lucile Hadžihalilović has also noted the pull of Hitchcock’s women, calling Melanie a distant cousin to Marion Cotillard’s character in The Ice Tower. Both are beautiful, cold, and deeply troubled, though one is constantly threatened by birds. It is a specific kind of dread that refuses to be tamed.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched The Birds.
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Sources
- The Birds on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q110043 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “The Birds (film)” 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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