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Released
1998 · FILM

Sphere

A diverse team of scientists and a Navy captain race against time to unlock the secrets of an ultra‑advanced, centuries‑old American spacecraft hidden in the Pacific depths, hoping its mysterious mission can be deciphered before the technology falls into the wrong hands.

“Terror can fill any space.”

Directed by
Barry Levinson, Katterli Frauenfelder
Written by
Kurt Wimmer, Stephen Hauser
Rated
MPA · PG-13
Runtime
134 min
MysterySci-FiThriller

Synopsis

A spacecraft is discovered at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, believed to be at least 300 years old and of extraterrestrial origin. A specialized team of scientists and experts is assembled and transported to the ocean floor to conduct an investigation. However, the vessel proves to be more complex than anticipated, and when a massive, perfectly shaped sphere is found in the cargo bay, the situation begins to unravel.

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 183+ 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 Stu LinderShot by Adam GreenbergScored by Elliot GoldenthalDesigned by Norman ReynoldsSound by Richard BeggsCostumes by Gloria GreshamStunts by Alex DanielsVFX by Carlos Arguello

Box Office

1998 · Box office

📉 Underperformed — grossed 0.5× 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

$37.0M

Budget$80.0M
Worldwide gross$37.0M
break-even (2.5×)

Opening weekend: $14.4M — 39% of its US run. Front-loaded — most of its money arrived opening weekend.

Opening week (7-day): $18.2M — 49% of its US & Canada run.

Peak 2,814 theaters

Full synopsis

Also known as

  • Sphere – Die Macht aus dem Allde
  • Esferaes
  • Sphèrefr
  • Sferait
  • (English)Sphere
  • (Bulgarian)Сфера
Release dates around the world4 countries · show
  • United StatesFeb 11, 1998
  • CanadaFeb 13, 1998
  • ColombiaFeb 16, 1998
  • SingaporeMar 12, 1998

Companies

ProductionWarner Bros., Baltimore Pictures, Constant c Productions

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