Mars Attacks!

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Tim Burton directs. Peter Suschitzky behind the camera. Danny Elfman scores. Chris Lebenzon cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Mid-budget at $70M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
• 230 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
• 3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, French.
• 4Directed by Tim Burton, shot by Peter Suschitzky. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 5Original score by Danny Elfman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 6Editor Chris Lebenzon shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 7Jack Nicholson and Glenn Close and Annette Bening carry the top of the cast.
• 8Marketing tagline: "Nice planet. We'll take it!".
• 9IMDB entry: tt0116996 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 10Classified under 19 themes, including "usa president", "the white house", "planet mars", "saving the world".

The technical file

Cinematography

Peter Suschitzky

Original score

Danny Elfman

Editing

Chris Lebenzon

Production design

Wynn Thomas

Costume design

Colleen Atwood

Makeup / hair

Ve Neill

Sound

Randy Thom

Runtime

106 min · 1h 46m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$70,000,000

Box office

$101,371,017

Return

145% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

PG-13

IMDB

Mars Attacks! (1996) ↗

Also by

Tim Burton

• 
  Wednesday

  2022 · ★ 8.3
• 
  Faerie Tale Theatre

  1982 · ★ 8.1
• 
  Vincent

  1982 · ★ 7.8
• 
  Big Fish

  2003 · ★ 7.7
• 
  Edward Scissorhands

  1990 · ★ 7.7
• 
  Corpse Bride

  2005 · ★ 7.6

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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

Wallpaper Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  The First Martian Attack - Movie Clip

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Alien Greeting Scene - Movie Clip

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Official Trailer

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  The Aliens Arrive

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Trailer 2

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Kamurai2021-02-23
  ★ 6/10

  Good watch, could watch again, but it's hard to honestly recommend. This is one of those movies that is good because it is bad, whether or not that is done on purpose, for the purposes of parody. Otherwise it's just a good old jump in "The Way Back Machine" to see a litany of cameos or cheap parts by almost anyone who was famous in the mid-1990s. Though I do feel like most of the actors I liked were essentially wasted, but it is possible that was by design so the Martians could keep the focus for the majority of the movie. Rethinking on the movie almost makes me want a modernization, it has so many little quirks and nuances that really brings it to a special experience. Even if you think it looks terrible, throw this on your queque and slot it in for a Bad Movie Night.

  Read full review ↓
• Filipe Manuel Neto2023-07-06
  ★ 7/10

  A film full of black humor, and for that very reason difficult to digest for many people. Black humor is doomed to be understood by very few, and this film, which is drenched in black humor from beginning to end, paid the price, becoming a minor failure. I believe that, even today, it is one of the less well-appreciated films of director Tim Burton's career, who made films considerably worse than this one. The action takes place in the 90s and portrays a hostile Martian invasion of our planet. The US government (obviously, the other countries have virtually disappeared from the map and only France is mentioned lightly to show the total destruction of the country) is understandably tense: there are military personnel sexually aroused by the idea of using nuclear weapons against the invaders, there are scientists absolutely convinced that Martian technological superiority is reason enough to believe strongly in the good intentions of the visitors, there are politicians worried about the elections. Of course, when it comes time to showdown, the visitors get the upper hand. Perhaps the best thing about this film is the strength and talent of its cast, filled with good actors who wanted to work under Burton's guidance. Jack Nicholson stands out naturally in the role of the president and does an interesting job, being well assisted by a discreet Glenn Close and a young Natalie Portman. Lisa Marie plays an unforgettable role where she doesn't have to say a single word, while Danny DeVito seems to revisit some previous characters to do his job here, which is little (but it's also true that he wasn't given much to do) . Tom Jones makes an interesting appearance. Pierce Brosnan looks like he's having fun while parodying himself. We also have good contributions from Sarah Jessica Parker, Annette Bening, Martin Short, Michael J. Fox, Rod Steiger and Jack Black. Besides, the film is a gigantic satire on the sci-fi B cinema of the 50s and 60s, where it was common to see martian invaders and visitors. The cinematography is colorful, light, and the environment is light, funny. You can feel that the film doesn't take itself too seriously and doesn't want to be taken too seriously. So it works reasonably well, at least for those who accept dark humor well.

  Read full review ↓
• Wuchak2025-10-21
  ★ 7/10

  Tim Burton’s spoof of ’50s sci-fi flicks with an outstanding cast Shot in 1996 and released at the end of that year, Burton used the Mars Attacks trading cards from the ’60s as the template for his extraterrestrials. The film plays like the Mad magazine version of “Independence Day,” which beat this to the theaters by 5.5 months the same year. Yet Burton said he didn’t know anything about that movie and it was purely coincidental. Aside from the trading cards, “Mars Attacks!” spoofs ’50s flicks like “The Day the Earth Stood Still” and “War of the Worlds.” It bombed domestically and didn’t do much better worldwide (although it was a little more popular in Europe). Either audiences had had their fill after the overlong (and disappointing) “Independence Day” or they found the movie silly and boring; perhaps both. Since then, it has gone on to achieve cult status. While the idea is great and you can’t beat the production quality of Burton’s movies, it is somewhat disappointing on first watch and dull in ways, particularly the first half. However, there’s so much zany creative energy augmented by the second-to-none cast that it’s worth checking out and works better on repeat viewings. You just have to be in the right mood to appreciate it. There’s a subversive element with the humans being lampooned while the Martians are having a blast with their conquest. Then you have entertaining bits like the Martians toppling the iconic Easter Island statues like bowling pins, not to mention the amusing commentary on country music in the last act. As far as the “second-to-none cast” goes, there’s the likes of Jack Nicholson (in a dual role), Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, Danny DeVito, Martin Short, Sarah Jessica Parker, Michael J. Fox, Rod Steiger, Tom Jones, Lukas Haas, Jack Black, Natalie Portman, Jim Brown, Pam Grier, Joe Don Baker, Lisa Marie, Christina Applegate, Natalie Portman and several others. In the beauty department Janice Rivera rises to the fore as Cindy, the casino girl, with nods to Lisa Marie and Applegate. Burton could’ve done better on this front considering the resources. Lastly, I love how Jim Brown and Tom Jones ultimately become the main protagonists. The former plays an ex-boxer stuck entertaining tourists dressed up as a Pharaoh at a Vegas casino, while the latter amusingly plays himself. If you don’t like the first half, stick around because the movie gains momentum for a superior second half. Or perhaps it’s just a matter of acclimating to Burton’s bizarre style and the world he creates. It runs 1 hour, 45 minutes, and was shot mostly in DC, Kansas and Las Vegas, but also Inglewood in Los Angeles for the donut shop, etc. GRADE: B

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Warner Bros. Pictures

  US

• 

  Tim Burton Productions

  US

Key crew

• ProducerTim Burton
• ProducerLarry Franco
• EditorChris Lebenzon
• CastingMatthew Barry
• CastingJeanne McCarthy
• CastingVictoria Thomas
• Production DesignWynn Thomas
• Art DirectionJohn Dexter
• Set DecorationNancy Haigh
• Costume DesignColleen Atwood
• Makeup ArtistVe Neill
• ProstheticsGary Archer
• StuntsDarrin Prescott
• VFX ArtistRoger Huynh
• StuntsCorey Michael Eubanks
• Digital Effects SupervisorGuy Williams
• AnimationKyle Balda
• StuntsPatricia M. Peters
• StuntsGeorge Fisher
• StuntsJimmy Ortega
• StuntsJoey Box
• StuntsThomas Rosales Jr.
• StuntsDana Dru Evenson
• StuntsCharlie Picerni

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• usa president
• the white house
• planet mars
• saving the world
• cataclysm
• total destruction
• laser gun
• ambassador
• congress
• flying saucer
• dark comedy
• parody
• based on comic
• alien
• creature
• alien invasion
• outer space
• playful
• farcical

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere1996-12-13PG-13· Hollywood, California
• Theatrical1996-12-13PG-13
• Physical1997-03-31PG-13· VHS
• Physical2004-06-01PG-13· DVD
• Physical2010-09-07PG-13· Blu-ray
• Physical2026-08-11PG-13· 4K Ultra HD

Also known as

International titles

• Mars Attacks - Netter Planet, den nehmen wirDE
• 火星人袭击地球CN