Days of Thunder
Young rookie racer Cole Trickle battles his own fear and a fierce rival on the high‑stakes NASCAR circuit, striving to prove himself before a catastrophic crash ends his career.
“You can't outrun the thunder.”
Synopsis
Cole Trickle, an inexperienced stock‑car driver, receives an opportunity that leads him to work with veteran crew chief Harry Hogge and attract attention on the racing circuit. He forms a rivalry with another competitor, culminating in both drivers crashing their vehicles, which jeopardizes his career. With assistance from his physician, Cole addresses his injuries and confronts his fear.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 48+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Robert C JonesShot by Ward RussellScored by Hans Zimmer
Box Office
1990 · Box office
✅ Made its money back — grossed 2.6× its budget
Why 2.5×?
Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).
Worldwide gross
$157.9M
US & Canada: $82.7M — 52% of worldwide · International: $75.3M (48%)
Opening weekend: $15.5M — 19% of its US run.
Opening week (7-day): $29.8M — 36% of its US & Canada run.
Peak 2,307 theaters
Also known as
- Tage des Donnersde
- Tage des Donners - Days of Thunderde
- Jours de tonnerrefr
- Giorni di tuonoit
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Cast & Crew
48 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Tom Cruise
as Cole Trickle
Nicole Kidman
as Dr. Claire Lewicki
Robert Duvall
as Harry Hogge
Randy Quaid
as Tim Daland
Cary Elwes
as Russ Wheeler
Michael Rooker
as Rowdy Burns
Fred Thompson
as Big John
John C Reilly
as Buck Bretherton
J C Quinn
as Waddell
Don Simpson
as Aldo Bennedetti
Caroline Williams
as Jennie Burns
Michael Burgess
as Young Doctor
Supporting cast
26Gerald R Molen
as Dr. Wilhaire
Donna W Scott
as Darlene
Leilani Sarelle
as Female Highway Patrol Officer
Chris Ellis
as Harlem Hoogerhyde
Peter Appel
as Cole's Crew
Stephen Michael Ayers
as Cole's Crew
Mike Slattery
as Cole's Crew
John Griesemer
as Len Dortort
Barbara Garrick
as Lauren Daland
Tania Coleridge
as Russ Wheeler's Girlfriend
Alexandra Balahoutis
as Autograph Fan
Steve Boyd
as NASCAR Official
Daniel D Greenwood
as ESPN Announcer
Jim Grimshaw
as Hardee's Pit Crew Chief
James Martin Jr
as Field Doctor
Margo Martindale
as Donna
Jim Crowther
as Dr. Crowther
James D Henson
as Doctor
Cyndi Vicino
as Nurse
Shari Ellis
as Nurse
Xavier Coronel
as Orderly
Nick Searcy
as Highway Patrol Officer
Jerry Punch
as Himself
Neil Bonnett
as Himself
Harry P Gant
as Himself
Rusty Wallace
as Himself
Directors
1Writers
2Producers
2Other crew
7Parents Guide
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