WarGames

WarGames
WarGames
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	John Badham
Written by	Lawrence Lasker; Walter F. Parkes;
Produced by	Harold Schneider
Starring	Matthew Broderick; Dabney Coleman; John Wood; Ally Sheedy;
Cinematography	William A. Fraker
Edited by	Tom Rolf
Music by	Arthur B. Rubinstein
Production; companies	United Artists; Sherwood Productions;
Distributed by	MGM/UA Entertainment Company (United States); United International Pictures (international)
Release dates	May 7, 1983 (Cannes); June 3, 1983 (United States);
Running time	114 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$12 million
Box office	$124.6 million

WarGames is a 1983 American techno-thriller film^[2] directed by John Badham, written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes, and starring Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood and Ally Sheedy. Broderick plays David Lightman, a young computer hacker who unwittingly accesses a United States military supercomputer programmed to simulate, predict and execute nuclear war against the Soviet Union, triggering a false alarm that threatens to start World War III.

The film premiered at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival, and was released by MGM/UA Entertainment on June 3, 1983. It was a widespread critical and commercial success, grossing $125 million worldwide against a $12 million budget. At the 56th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for three Oscars, including Best Original Screenplay. It also won a BAFTA Award for Best Sound.

WarGames is credited with popularizing concepts of computer hacking, information technology, and cybersecurity in wider American society.^[3]^[4]^[5] It spawned several video games, a 2008 sequel film, and a 2018 interactive series.

^ "AFI|Catalog". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved September 14, 2023.
^ "Cyber Threats and Opportunities" (PDF).
^ Cite error: The named reference wired was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference wargames was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Schulte, Stephanie (November 2008). "The WarGames Scenario: Regulating Teenagers and Teenaged Technology". Television and New Media. 9 (6): 487–513. doi:10.1177/1527476408323345. S2CID 146669305.