Crocodile Dundee (film series)

Crocodile Dundee
Official film series logo
Based onCharacters
by Paul Hogan
StarringPaul Hogan
Linda Kozlowski
(See list below)
Release date
1986–2001
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
Budget$47,800,000[1]
Box office$607,202,827

The Crocodile Dundee film series[2] consists of action-comedy films centered on a crocodile hunter named Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee. The movies star Paul Hogan in the title role, over the course of three feature films. Hogan refused several proposals for more Crocodile Dundee films.

Films

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Film U.S. release date Director(s) Screenwriter(s) Story by Producer(s)
Crocodile Dundee September 26, 1986 (1986-09-26) Peter Faiman Ken Shadie, Paul Hogan & John Cornell Paul Hogan John Cornell
Crocodile Dundee II May 25, 1988 (1988-05-25) John Cornell Paul Hogan & Brett Hogan Jane Scott & John Cornell
Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles April 18, 2001 (2001-04-18) Simon Wincer Eric Abrams & Matthew Berry Paul Hogan & Lance Hool

Crocodile Dundee (1986)

[edit]

A New York reporter named Sue Charlton heads to Australia to interview the living legend, known as "Crocodile" Dundee. When she finally finds him in the vast Australian terrain, she is so enthralled with him that she brings him back with her to New York City. In New York, Dundee is amazed by the many wonders of the city life and the interesting people there. It's a whole new way of life for the crocodile hunting adventurer.

Crocodile Dundee II (1988)

[edit]

Mick "Crocodile" Dundee is just settling into his new way of life, in a home in Manhattan, when a South American drug dealer abducts his girlfriend, Sue. The drug dealer believes that images of his criminal activities, taken by her photographer ex-husband, are now being held by her. The crime boss holds her hostage in New York under threatening pretences, hoping that she'll give up the evidence. The legendary intrepid Dundee is soon on the criminal's trail and, as an expert hunter and adventurer, he aims to rescue his hostage girlfriend.

Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001)

[edit]

Dundee, an expert adventurer in the truest sense: a crocodile hunter from the wilds of the Australian Outback, and survivor of the dangers of New York City, now finds he must move to the luxury of Tinseltown - Los Angeles, California - when his wife, Sue, receives a new job as a newspaper bureau chief. "Mick" becomes an amateur undercover investigator when a conspiracy arises surrounding a Hollywood studio and their next big film release.

Future

[edit]

Following the overwhelmingly positive response to the fake trailers from the Super Bowl commercial campaign, Chris Hemsworth confirmed the possibility of creating a film. In discussing the production on the short, he stated:

"While shooting, Danny McBride and I spoke about if it could be a movie. We started to get worried that if this commercial is as good as we hoped it's going to be, people are going to be disappointed, we're going to have to make a movie. But I had so much fun making this commercial, I'd definitely be open to discussions about it."[3]

Cast and characters

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Character Films Marketing
Crocodile Dundee Crocodile Dundee II Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles Dundee:
The Son of a Legend Returns Home
Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee Paul Hogan
Sue Charlton Dundee Linda Kozlowski
Walter "Wally" Riley Sr. John Meillon
Luis Rico Hechter Ubarry
Miguel Juan Fernández de Alarcon
Arnan Rothman Jere Burns
Miloš Drubnik Jonathan Banks
Michael "Mikey" Dundee Serge Cockburn
Brian Dundee Danny McBride
Walter "Wally" Riley Jr. Chris Hemsworth
Lil' Donk Margot Robbie
The Prime Minister Hugh Jackman
J.P. Steele Russell Crowe
Wes Windsong Liam Hemsworth
Chief Jackson Ruby Rose
Dr. Clark Isla Fisher
The Cricket Legend Luke Bracey
Bar Patron Chris Carr
Jessica Mauboy Herself

Additional crew and production details

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Film Composer Cinematographer Editor Production companies Distributing companies Running time
Crocodile Dundee Peter Best Russell Boyd David Stiven Rimfire Films 20th Century Fox
Hoyts Distribution
Paramount Pictures
1 hr 44 mins
Crocodile Dundee II Rimfire Films
Paramount Pictures
1 hr 52 mins
Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles Basil Poledouris David Burr Terry Blythe Silver Lion Films
Bungalow Productions
Vision View Entertainment
Universal Pictures
Paramount Pictures
1 hr 28 mins

Reception

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Box office performance

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Film Release date Box office gross Box office ranking Budget Ref(s)
North America Other territories Worldwide All time
North America
All time
worldwide
Crocodile Dundee September 26, 1986 $174,803,506 $153,400,000 $328,203,506 #253 #371 $8.8 million [4]
Crocodile Dundee II May 25, 1988 $109,306,210 $130,300,000 $239,606,210 #587 #570 $14 million [5]
Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles April 18, 2001 $25,635,682 $13,802,992 $39,438,674 #2,859 $21.15 million [6]

Critical and public response

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Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore
Crocodile Dundee 89% (35 reviews)[7] 62 (13 reviews)[8] B+[9]
Crocodile Dundee II 9% (32 reviews)[10] 41 (12 reviews)[11] B+[9]
Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles 11% (82 reviews)[12] 37 (23 reviews)[13] B-[9]

Home media

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Paramount Pictures has released the Crocodile Dundee trilogy on Blu-ray in the U.S. on September 21, 2021. The third film is a debut for Blu-ray release.[14]

Other media

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Super Bowl LII commercial

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Hogan refused several proposals for more Crocodile Dundee films.[15] In January 2018, two trailers were released online for what was marketed as another film in the series, titled Dundee, with the tagline The son of a legend returns home. The film was said to star Danny McBride as Brian Dundee, the son of the original Michael J. "Crocodile" Dundee. The trailers also feature cameo appearances by Australian actors Chris Hemsworth, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Margot Robbie, Isla Fisher, Ruby Rose, Liam Hemsworth, Jessica Mauboy, and Luke Bracey.[16] Various aspects of the campaign made some publications believe that the film was an elaborate hoax.[17] It was later reported that these ads were actually part of a lead up to a Super Bowl commercial for Tourism Australia.[17] McBride and Hemsworth starred in the final commercial, which included Hogan in a cameo.[15][18]

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Crocodile Dundee Franchise Box Office History". The Numbers.
  2. ^ McGowan, Michael (February 2, 2018). "Crocodile Dundee 'reboot' ads revealed as tourism campaign at Super Bowl". The Guardian. Retrieved August 24, 2024.
  3. ^ Holmes, Adam (2018-02-06). "Chris Hemsworth Would Be Open To Joining A Real Crocodile Dundee Reboot". CinemaBlend. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  4. ^ "Crocodile Dundee". Box Office Mojo.
  5. ^ "Crocodile Dundee II". Box Office Mojo.
  6. ^ "Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles". Box Office Mojo.
  7. ^ "Crocodile Dundee (1986)". www.rottentomatoes.com.
  8. ^ "Crocodile Dundee". www.metacritic.com.
  9. ^ a b c "Cinemascore :: Movie Title Search". Archived from the original on 2018-12-20. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
  10. ^ "Crocodile Dundee II (1988)". www.rottentomatoes.com.
  11. ^ "Crocodile Dundee II". www.metacritic.com.
  12. ^ "Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001)". www.rottentomatoes.com.
  13. ^ "Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles". www.metacritic.com.
  14. ^ "The Crocodile Dundee Trilogy Blu-ray". September 21, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
  15. ^ a b Klara, Michael (2018-02-04). "That Crocodile Dundee Reboot: Here's the Whole Story Behind the Movie That Wasn't". Adweek. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
  16. ^ Garcia, Arturo (24 January 2018). "Is a 'Crocodile Dundee' Sequel Being Released in 2018?". Snopes. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  17. ^ a b Moran, Rob (24 January 2018). "Crocodile Dundee reboot outed as advertising campaign for Tourism Australia". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  18. ^ McGowan, Michael (4 February 2018). "Crocodile Dundee 'reboot' ads revealed as tourism campaign at Super Bowl". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group plc.