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Trailer 2

Paul(2011)
Released
2011 · FILM

Paul

Two British comic‑book fans road‑trip across the American Southwest to chase UFO legends, only to pick up a stranded alien and find themselves thrust into a covert government hunt that could expose humanity’s first contact.

“Who's up for a close encounter?”

Directed by
Greg Mottola
Written by
Simon Pegg, Nick Frost
Rated
MPA · R
Runtime
104 min
AdventureComedySci-Fi
Streaming on
  • Paramount+

Synopsis

For the past 60 years, a space-traveling alien named Paul has been confined to a top-secret military base, where he has advised world leaders on matters concerning his species. When he begins to fear that his usefulness is coming to an end and that he may soon be subjected to dissection, Paul escapes by hitching a ride on the first recreational vehicle that passes by his compound in Area 51. Fortunately, the RV is driven by the two humans most likely to offer refuge and assistance to an alien on the run.

Credits

Actors
Editor
Production Designer
Director of Photography
Writers
Director

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How many hands made this film

The scale of the collaboration

A crew of 59+ 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 Chris DickensShot by Lawrence SherScored by David ArnoldDesigned by Jefferson Sage

Box Office

2011 · Box office

⚖️ Fell short of break-even — grossed 2.5× 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

$98.0M

Budget$40.0M
Worldwide gross$98.0M
break-even (2.5×)

US & Canada: $37.4M — 38% of worldwide · International: $60.6M (62%)

Opening weekend: $13.0M — 35% of its US run. Front-loaded — most of its money arrived opening weekend.

Opening week (7-day): $17.1M — 46% of its US & Canada run.

Peak 2,802 theaters

Full synopsis

Also known as

  • Paul - Ein Alien auf der Fluchtde

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