Big

"Have you ever had a really big secret?"

1988 1h 44m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

🔥

98%

CERTIFIED FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.3

IMDB

★7.2TMDB · 4,201🍅98%Rotten Tomatoes●73Metacritic★7.3IMDB · 258,404

FantasyDramaComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When a young boy makes a wish at a carnival machine to be big, he wakes up the following morning to find that it has been granted and his body has grown older overnight, but he is still the same 13-year-old boy inside. Now he must learn how to cope with the unfamiliar world of grown-ups, including getting a job and having his first romantic encounter with a woman.

“Have you ever had a really big secret?”

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Cast

Tom Hanks
Josh
Elizabeth Perkins
Susan
Robert Loggia
MacMillan
John Heard
Paul
Jared Rushton
Billy
Jon Lovitz
Scotty Brennen
David Moscow
Young Josh
Mercedes Ruehl
Mrs. Baskin

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Penny Marshall
Writers: Anne Spielberg, Gary Ross
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 8.4× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

38 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Penny Marshall, shot by Barry Sonnenfeld. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Howard Shore. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Barry Malkin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Tom Hanks and Elizabeth Perkins and Robert Loggia carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Have you ever had a really big secret?".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0094737 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Penny Marshall directs. Barry Sonnenfeld behind the camera. Howard Shore scores. Barry Malkin cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 8.4× over at the box office.
238 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Penny Marshall, shot by Barry Sonnenfeld. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Howard Shore. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Barry Malkin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Tom Hanks and Elizabeth Perkins and Robert Loggia carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Have you ever had a really big secret?".
8IMDB entry: tt0094737 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 24 themes, including "coming of age", "best friend", "co-workers relationship", "body-swap".

The technical file

Cinematography: Barry Sonnenfeld
Original score: Howard Shore
Editing: Barry Malkin
Production design: Santo Loquasto
Costume design: Judianna Makovsky
Makeup / hair: Mickey Scott
Sound: Chris Jenkins
Runtime: 104 min · 1h 44m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $18,000,000
Box office: $151,927,281
Return: 844% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Big (1988)
Rotten Tomatoes: 98% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 73/100
IMDB rating: 7.3/10 · 258,404 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

Nominated for 2 Oscars. 11 wins & 14 nominations total

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Saturn Award for Best Writing

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Penny Marshall

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Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Andre Gonzales2023-04-30
★ 7/10
Love this movie growing up. Everytime I went to a fair I was always hoping to find a machine like this. Still one of my favorite movies of all time.
CinemaSerf2025-11-21
★ 7/10
Oh, if only I was still young enough to wish I was older! That’s the problem facing the young “Josh” (David Moscow) who just wants to get all the school and puberty malarkey over and done with. Well a strange looking slot machine called “Zoltar” offers him a wish in return for his quarter. Of course, he goes home to bed thinking it’s all nonsense, but when he awakens in the morning suffice to say his jeans no longer fit and his mother is mortified that Tom Hanks appears to have moved in! What the young lad didn’t ask for, though, was a grown up mind to go with his new physique, and so finding it safer to quit the family home for a while, he has to try to make a living in the big wide world. Luckily, he gets himself a job - and where better than at a toy company. His thirteen year old self makes him uniquely placed to offer an insight into the testing processes for their new products, and quickly he attracts the attention of it’s boss “MacMillan” (Robert Loggia). He’s impressed by the exuberance and ideas of his new employee, and so big “Josh” soon finds himself in his own apartment with all the mod cons his real self would want. His rise to fame isn’t universally popular, though, with disgruntled executive “Paul” (John Heard) less than impressed, but fellow high-flier “Susan” (Elizabeth Perkins) takes quite a shine to his fresh attitude and to himself. Now, of course, his adult self gets the hots for her too, but emotionally - well, watch this space… Hanks is on great form here as he presents us with the perfect childlike perspective. He’s nervous, anxious, naive, enthusiastic and the immaturity of the young “Josh” with long sleeves, dropped into often risqué scenarios, is often quite a joy to watch. The sparring with Heard also works well, and the romantc elements reminded me of those first crush moments in a toe-curlingly accurate fashion, too. It serves as a great reminder that life is never more for living than when you are young and care-free. The ending is fairly predictable, and I thought just a little sad - but I suppose it had to be!