Mighty Joe Young
Jill Young must shield her towering gorilla companion, Joe, from a ruthless poacher bent on capturing the beast for profit, while racing against time to secure a safe sanctuary before both their lives are destroyed.
“Survival is an instinct.”
Synopsis
As a child living in Africa, Jill Young witnessed her mother killed while protecting wild gorillas from poachers led by Andrei Strasser. Now an adult, Jill cares for an orphaned gorilla named Joe—who, due to a genetic anomaly, is 15 feet tall. When Gregg O’Hara, a wildlife photographer, arrives in the area, he becomes entangled in Jill’s efforts to protect Joe from Strasser, who returns to Africa seeking revenge and driven by a desire to capture the giant gorilla for profit.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 66+ 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 Paul HirschShot by Donald PetermanScored by James HornerDesigned by Michael Corenblith
Box Office
1998 · Box office
📉 Underperformed — grossed 0.6× 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
$50.6M
Opening weekend: $10.6M — 21% of its US run.
Opening week (7-day): $20.0M — 40% of its US & Canada run.
Peak 2,502 theaters
Also known as
- Mein Grosser Freund Joede
- Mein großer Freund Joede
- Mon ami Joefr
- Il grande Joeit
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Cast & Crew
66 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Bill Paxton
as Gregg O'Hara
Charlize Theron
as Jill Young
Rade Serbedzija
as Strasser
Peter Firth
as Garth
David Paymer
as Harry Ruben
Regina King
as Cecily Banks
Robert Wisdom
as Kweli
Naveen Andrews
as Pindi
Lawrence Pressman
as Dr. Baker
Linda Purl
as Dr. Ruth Young
Mika Boorem
as Young Jill Young
Geoffrey Blake
as Vern
Supporting cast
40Christian Clemenson
as Jack
Cory Buck
as Jason
Liz Georges
as Jason's Mother
Richard Riehle
as Commander Gorman
Cynthia Allison
as News Reporter
Ken Taylor
as News Reporter
Ray Harryhausen
as Gentleman at Party
Terry Moore
as Elegant Woman at Party
Judson Mills
as Impatient Driver
Tony Genaro
as Boxer Shorts Man
Flo Di Re
as Bambi's Owner
Kaylan Romero
as Street Kid
Hernan Ruiz
as Street Kid
Jenilee Deal
as Street Kid
Matt Deal
as Street Kid
Bethany Bassler
as Cabriolet Girl
Vicki Davis
as Cabriolet Girl
Deborah Kellner
as Cabriolet Girl
Marguerite Moreau
as Cabriolet Girl
Tracey Walter
as Conservacy Guard
Larry Brandenburg
as Animal Control Duty Officer
Damien Leake
as Cop
Neil Kopit
as Cop
Janet Eilber
as Concerned Mother
Wiley M Pickett
as Police Sharpshooter
John Bower
as Carjack Man
Hannah Swanson
as Toddler
Laurie Kilpatrick
as Toddler's Mom
Richard Mcgonagle
as Panda Owner
Reno Wilson
as Poacher
Ted Hartley
as Society Man
Dina Merrill
as Society Woman
Lily Mariye
as Ticket Clerk
John Alexander
as Mighty Joe Young
Verne Troyer
as Baby Joe
John Munro Cameron
as Joe's Mother Gorilla
David St Pierre
as Joe's Father Gorilla
Debbie Lee Carrington
as Other Gorilla
Denise Cheshire
as Other Gorilla
Darren T Knaus
as Baby Joe (voice)
Directors
1Writers
4Producers
2Other crew
8Parents Guide
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