Futurama (film)

Futurama is a 2001 American animated action science-fiction film produced by Buddy Studios (at the time known as Buddy Entertainment), 20th Century Animation and The Curiosity Company, and distributed by 20th Century Studios. The film is directed by David X. Cohen and Matt Groening, produced by Lewis Morton, J. Stewart Burns, Patric M. Verrone, Jason Grode, Claudia Katz, Brian J. Cowan, and is based on the animated sitcom of the same name by Cohen and Groening. It stars the voices of Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr, David Herman, Frank Walker, Kath Soucie, Dawnn Lewis, Dan Castellaneta, Sarah Silverman, Bumper Robinson, Coolio and Phil Hendrie.

The film was conceived in 2000 by creator David X. Cohen in talks of a theatrical Futurama film. Production began in March, with creator Matt Groening directing the film, along with Cohen. The film was produced on a $70 million production budget. The film was theatrically released on January 21, 2001 in the United States and Canada, and January 26 in other territories.

The film was critically praised by critics and audiences alike, with critics praising its voice acting, humor, West and Sagal's performances, and its animation. It grossed $935 million against the production budget of $70 million, making it the 2nd highest grossing film of 2001, behind Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the highest grossing animated film of 2001, and the 13th highest grossing animated film of all time, behind Disney's Finding Nemo and overtaking DreamWorks' Shrek 2.

Plot
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Cast

 * Billy West as Philip J. Fry, Professor Farnsworth, Doctor Zoidberg, Zapp Brannigan, Richard Nixon's Head, Smitty, Leo Wong, additional voices
 * Katey Sagal as Turanga Leela
 * John DiMaggio as Bender, Elzar, URL, Joey Mousepad, Igner, Barbados Slim, additional voices
 * Tress MacNeille as Mom, Hattie McDoogal, Tinny Tim, Ndnd, Turanga Munda, Linda
 * Maurice LaMarche as Kif Kroker, Hedonismbot, Dr. Perceptron, Walt, Morbo, Lrrr, additional voices
 * Lauren Tom as Amy Wong, Inez Wong, Jrrr
 * Phil LaMarr as Hermes Conrad, Robot 1-X, iZac
 * David Herman as Scruffy, Roberto, Mayor Poopenmeyer, Dr. Ogden Wernstrom, Turanga Morris, Larry, additional voices
 * Frank Welker as Nibbler, Seymour, Blorgulax, additional voices
 * Kath Soucie as Cubert Farnsworth, additional voices and minor characters
 * Dawnn Lewis as LaBarbara Conrad, Hermes' wife
 * Dan Castellaneta as the Robot Devil
 * Sarah Silverman as Michelle, additional voices and minor characters
 * Bumper Robinson as Dwight Conrad, minor characters
 * Coolio as Kwanzaa-Bot, additional voices
 * Phil Hendrie as Old Man Waterfall

Film announcement
In 1999, Futurama hit TV screens by 20th Century Television and The Curiosity Company. Matt Groening had just finished the first 8 episodes, until March 2000, where talks of a motion picture with Groening and series co-creator David X. Cohen would be progressed. It was announced in December 1999, Matt Groening announced on Jimmy Kimmel's The Man Show that "a Futurama motion picture would be made soon".

Development
The development for a Futurama film began in March 2000, when creator Matt Groening pitched the idea of a Futurama motion picture. The Curiosity Company, the owners of the franchise, originally declined the idea of the film, as the team wanted to focus more on its 1st season. But in early April, TCC allowed the rights for a motion picture. Matt Groening, the executive producer and director, was the head of production.

Voice actors
In the original series, it stars the original cast, with Billy West, Katey Sagal, John DiMaggio, Tress MacNeille, Maurice LaMarche, Lauren Tom, Phil LaMarr, David Herman and Frank Welker. Additional voices from Kath Soucie, Dawnn Lewis, Dan Castellaneta, Sarah Silverman, Bumper Robinson, Coolio and Phil Hendrie were included in the casting.

Animation
The animation for the film was produced by 20th Century Animation and Rough Draft Studios. The animation was produced as both 2D animation, and CG animation for fast or complex shots. Principal production took place at Rough Draft, with additional production being produced under its sister animation studio, Rough Draft Korea.

The CG animation was rendered at 24 frames per second, while the traditional animation was rendered at 12 frames per second. In addition to animation by Rough Draft Studios, PowerAnimator and Autodesk Maya was used to draw the comic CG, while Toonz, a 2D animation program, was used for digital inking and paint for its composition.

Music
The film's music was composed by Christopher Tyng, who composed the music for the original series.

Soundtrack
The film's score was composed and conducted by Christopher Tyng. The soundtrack was labeled under Atlantic Records and was released on January 24, 2001.

Release
The film was screened at the Regency Village Theater on January 2, 2001 and was theatrically released in the United States and Canada on January 21, and in other territories on January 26 by 20th Century Studios.

Marketing
The first trailer for the film was teased on September 21, 2000, with the second trailer being teased on October 2, along with multiple TV spots.

Promotional tie-ins for Futurama were promoted by fast food chains, including McDonald's and Burger King, and were promoted with merchandise from Mattel and Hasbro. PepsiCola, owner of Pepsi and FritoLay, began promoting the film on the Pepsi bottles and its chip brand bags, including Lays. Advertisements for McDonald's and Burger King (Hungry Jacks in the UK) were promoted in between television broadcasts.

Mattel and Hasbro toy products for Futurama were premiered as bumpers on television in between broadcasts on Treehouse TV and Nick Jr., as well as in between broadcasting on Nickelodeon.

Box office
Futurama opened theatrically on January 21, 2001 in the United States and Canada along with Lost and Delirious and The Deep End. It grossed $420.3 million in the United States and Canada and $514.7 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $935 million. The film became the 2nd highest grossing film, behind Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the highest grossing animated film of 2001, and the 13th highest grossing animated film of all time, behind Disney's Finding Nemo and overtaking DreamWorks Animation's Shrek 2.

United States and Canada
Futurama was released in America and Canada on January 21, 2001. The film was screened in 3,025 theaters in the states of America and provinces in Canada.

In North America, the film was projected to gross $50-60 million in its opening weekend. It made $5.9 million from Sunday night previews. The film made over $56.2 million on its first day ($50 million with an additional $6.2 million in Monday night previews), beating its projections. The week finished with $138.7 million, finishing at number one at the American and Canadian box offices.

Entering its 2nd weekend of the film's opening, the film was set with promotional tie-in's from McDonald's and Burger King, along with merchandising from Mattel and Hasbro. The film made $9.2 million from Sunday night previews, and made $60.1 million on the first day of the 2nd week ($53.1 million and $7 million in Monday night previews), beating its projections again. The second week finished with $112.4 million, again finishing at number one at the American and Canadian box offices.

The film's box office projections ended on September 28, and the film grossed $420.3 million in total from its projections.

Other territories
In other territories, the film was released on January 26, 2001, 5 days after the US release. The film was screened in 2,901 theaters in multiple territories outside of the United States and Canada.

The film's box office projections were estimated between $60-70 million.

In other territories, the film was released in seven markets on January 26, and grossed $12.5 million in its opening weekend. In its 2nd week of release, the film opened in 20 more markets, grossing $45.9 million. In the 3rd week of its release, the film opened in 29 more markets, grossing $52.1 million.

Throughout its theatrical run in other territories outside of the United States, the film's largest markets were the United Kingdom (£127.6 million | $157.2 million), Germany (€122.6 million | $129 million), Russia (₽4.6 billion | $81 million), China (¥499.8 million | $74.5 million), Ukraine (₴1.45 billion | $49 million) and South Korea (₩62.68 billion | $24 million).

The film's box office projections ended on October 4, with the film totaling $514.7 million in total from its projections.

Critical response
The film was opened to critical acclaim. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 98% of 182 critic reviews were positive, with an average rating of 8.49/10. Its critical consensus reads "Scientifically demonstrative, beautifully animated, and thrillingly breathtaking for some, Futurama 's 30th century aspects prove that the future of what is to come of the show will be amazing." On Metacritic, the film has an assigned score of 87 out of 100, indicating universal acclaim. Audiences polled by CinemaScore assigned the film a rare grade of "A+" on its A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave the film a 96%, with 88% of audiences saying they would definitely recommend it.

Home media
Futurama was released on DVD and VHS on March 15, 2001, Blu-Ray on August 9, 2011, along with it being released on digital on June 19, 2013, and Blu-Ray 4K UHD on April 8, 2019 by 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment.

Video game
"Main article: The Futurama Movie (video game)"A tie-in video game was developed by Buddy Games, THQ and Rainbow Studios and was published by Fox Interactive and Activision for Microsoft Windows, Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox and Nintendo GameCube on July 24, 2004. The game holds a rating of 92% on GameRankings and 89 out of 100 on Metacritic.

Trivia
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