Twister (1996 film)

Twister
Theatrical release poster with original release date
Directed by	Jan de Bont
Written by	Michael Crichton Anne-Marie Martin
Produced by	Ian Bryce Michael Crichton Kathleen Kennedy
Starring	Helen Hunt Bill Paxton Jami Gertz Cary Elwes
Cinematography	Jack N. Green
Edited by	Michael Kahn
Music by	Mark Mancina
Production companies	Warner Bros.[1] Universal Pictures[1] Amblin Entertainment[1]
Distributed by	Warner Bros. (North America) Universal Pictures (through United International Pictures; International)
Release date	May 10, 1996 (1996-05-10)
Running time	113 minutes[2]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$88–92 million[2][3]
Box office	$495.7 million[3]

Twister is a 1996 American disaster thriller film directed by Jan de Bont from a screenplay by Michael Crichton and Anne-Marie Martin. It was produced by Crichton, Kathleen Kennedy, and Ian Bryce, with Steven Spielberg, Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald, and Gerald R. Molen serving as executive producers. The film stars an ensemble cast that includes Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton, Jami Gertz and Cary Elwes as a group of amateur but spirited storm chasers trying to deploy a tornado research device during a severe outbreak in Oklahoma. Twister was released in theaters on May 10, 1996. It is notable for being among the first films to be released on DVD in the United States.

Twister grossed $495 million worldwide and became the second-highest-grossing film of 1996; it sold an estimated 54.7 million tickets in the United States. It received generally positive reviews from critics and received Academy Award nominations for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound. A standalone sequel, Twisters, is scheduled to be released on July 19, 2024.