Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
Superman launches a global campaign to destroy nuclear weapons, but a vengeful Lex Luthor uses his powers against him to derail the mission and reignite the threat of war.
“Nuclear Power. In the best hands, it is dangerous. In the hands of Lex Luthor, it is pure evil. This is Superman's greatest battle. And it is for all of us.”
Synopsis
With global superpowers engaged in an increasingly hostile arms race, Superman leads a crusade to rid the world of nuclear weapons. But Lex Luthor, recently sprung from jail, is declaring war on the Man of Steel and his quest to save the planet. Using a strand of Superman
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 388+ 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 John ShirleyShot by Ernest DayScored by Alexander CourageDesigned by John GraysmarkSound by Vivian C GreenhamCostumes by John BloomfieldStunts by Alf JointVFX by Harrison Ellenshaw
Box Office
1987 · Box office
⚖️ Fell short of break-even — grossed 2.2× 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
$36.7M
US & Canada: $15.7M — 43% of worldwide · International: $21.0M (57%)
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Versions & cuts
- International Cut· 92 min
- pre-release cut· 134 min
- 1987· 93 min · 1987
Also known as
- Superman IV – Die Welt am Abgrundde
- Superman IV: The Quest for Peaceen
- Superman 4fr
- Superman IVit
- (French)Superman IV: Le face à face
- (English)Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
- (Bulgarian, Alternative Title)Супермен 4: В търсене на мира
Release dates around the world4 countries · showhide
- United KingdomJul 23, 1987
- United StatesJul 23, 1987
- IrelandJul 24, 1987
- TürkiyeJul 24, 1987
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Cast & Crew
388 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Christopher Reeve
as Clark Kent / Superman
Margot Kidder
as Lois Lane
Gene Hackman
as Lex Luthor
Mariel Hemingway
as Lacy Warfield
Jackie Cooper
as Perry White
Marc Mcclure
as Jimmy Olsen
Jon Cryer
as Lenny
Sam Wanamaker
as David Warfield
Mark Pillow
as Nuclear Man
Damian Mclawhorn
as Jeremy
William Hootkins
as Harry Howler
Jim Broadbent
as Jean Pierre Dubois
Supporting cast
63Stanley Lebor
as General Romoff
Don Fellows
as Levon Hornsby
Robert Beatty
as U.S. President
Bradley Lavelle
as Tall Marshall
Mac Mcdonald
as Marshall #2
Steve Plytas
as Russian General #2
Czeslaw Grocholski
as Russian General 1
John Hollis
as Russian General 3 (Kremlin)
Bob Sherman
as Senator - Pentagon
Eiji Kusuhara
as U.N. Guard - Japanese
Yuri Borienko
as Russian General - Red Square
Boris Isarov
as Cosmonaut Captain
Dorota Zieciowska
as Cosmonaut
Jayne Brook
as Teacher - JFK High School
Susannah York
as Lara (voice)
Diana Hunter
as Museum Tour Guide
Indira Joshi
as Secretary General U.N.
Jiri Stanislav
as Cosmonaut
Ron Travis
as Convict
Matthew Freeman
as Submariner
Douglas W Iles
as Chief of Staff
Ted Maynard
as Army Chief
Raymond Marlowe
as Navy Chief
John Cagon
as Technician
Malcolm Bullivant
as U.N. Guard - Swedish
Mark Caven
as Priest - Boystown
Nicholas Colicos
as Paul - Metro Sports Club
David Garth
as First Elder
Esmond Knight
as Second Elder
Keith Edwards
as Technician - Fort Mason
Eugene Lipinski
as Cosmonaut - Space Walker
Dennis Creaghan
as Bill Compton
Philip Fox
as Husband - Great Wall of China
Jimmy Fung
as Chinese Official - Great Wall of China
Guinevere John
as Tourist - Great Wall of China
Peter Penry Jones
as Tourist - Great Wall of China
Witold Schejbal
as Russian Premiere
Rex Robinson
as Engineer - Subway
Kerry Shale
as MBC Newscaster
Samantha Weysom
as Lex Luther Girlfriend
Max Bracey
as Baby Superman
Kenneth Coombs
as Reporter
Stephanie English
as Woman in Crowd
Jim Delaney
as U.N. Ambassador
Jill Goldston
as Commuter (uncredited)
Peter Diamond
as S.W.A.T. team member with melting gun
Colin Hunt
as Sergeant York (uncredited)
Eve Ferret
as Woman at Metro Club Nuclear Man 1
Sarah Franzl
as Woman Saved by Superman at Great Wall of China
Christine Hewett
as Woman Running for Bomb
Barrie Holland
as French Military Officer
Lew Hooper
as American General
Alf Joint
as Great Wall of China Tourist
Carl Kirshner
as Office clerk
Derek Lyons
as Russian Guard
Paul Markham
as Onlooker at Rally
Kingsley Pilgrim
as School kid
Theresa Renee
as Journalist
Peter Roy
as Policeman
Michael Ryan
as Young Man, Metro Club
Egbert Sen
as U.N. Delegate
Tina Simmons
as Commuter
Harry Van Engel
as Daily Planet Employee
Directors
1Writers
5Producers
6Other crew
308Trevor Puckle
2nd assistant director: Flying & second unit
Valerie Rosewell
accounts secretary
Jean Pierre Lelong
additional sound effects (as Jean Pierre Lelong)
David B Nowell
aerial director of photography (as David Nowell)
Marc Wolff
aerial photography: Gyrosphere
Michael Kelem
aerial photography: Gyrosphere
Stephen North
aerial photography: Gyrosphere (as Steve North)
William L Arance
airbrush artist (as W.L. Arance)
Hans W Hamacher
Ältester
Michael Lessa
animation supervisor
Allen Blyth
animator
Ed Coffey
animator
Parents Guide
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