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Released
1979 · FILM

Escape from Alcatraz

A brilliant burglar imprisoned on Alcatraz must outwit ruthless guards and violent inmates to pull off an impossible escape before his rivals crush his chance at freedom.

“No one has ever escaped from Alcatraz… and no one ever will!”

Directed by
Don Siegel, Luigi Alfano
Written by
J Campbell Bruce, Richard Tuggle
Rated
MPA · PG
Runtime
112 min
BiographyCrimeDrama

Synopsis

On January 18, 1960, Frank Lee Morris is transferred to Alcatraz, a maximum security prison situated on a rocky island in San Francisco Bay. Despite the fact that no one has ever successfully escaped from the facility, Frank and several other inmates begin to meticulously plan an escape.

Credits

Actors
Editor
Production Designer
Director of Photography
Writers
Directors

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How many hands made this film

The scale of the collaboration

A crew of 142+ 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 Ferris WebsterShot by Bruce SurteesScored by Jerry FieldingDesigned by Allen E SmithSound by Bert Hallberg

Box Office

1979 · Box office

💰 Box-office hit — grossed 5.4× 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

$43.0M

Budget$8.0M
Worldwide gross$43.0M
break-even (2.5×)

US & Canada: $43.0M — 100% of worldwide · International: $4K (0%)

Opening weekend: $5.3M — 12% of its US run. It had legs — it kept earning long after opening weekend.

Peak 815 theaters

Full synopsis

Also known as

  • Die Flucht von Alcatrazde
  • Flucht von Alcatrazde
  • L'évadé d'Alcatrazfr
  • (Alternative Title)Fuga de Alcatraz
  • Fuga da Alcatrazit
Release dates around the world5 countries · show
  • CanadaJun 22, 1979
  • United StatesJun 22, 1979
  • ItalyAug 30, 1979
  • SwedenSep 10, 1979
  • BrazilSep 14, 1979

Companies

ProductionParamount Pictures, The Malpaso Company

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