The Crow (franchise)
| The Crow | |
|---|---|
| Created by | James O'Barr |
| Original work | The Crow (1989) |
| Owners | Film distribution: Paramount Pictures (through Miramax Films): (1–4) (1994–2005) Lionsgate: (5) (2024 reboot) Comics: Image (1989–1998) IDW Publishing (1998–1999) |
| Years | 1989–present |
| Print publications | |
| Novel(s) |
|
| Comics |
|
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) |
|
| Television series | The Crow: Stairway to Heaven (1998–1999) |
| Games | |
| Video game(s) | The Crow: City of Angels (1997) |
| Audio | |
| Soundtrack(s) |
|
The Crow is an American media franchise based on the limited comic book series of the same name created by James O'Barr. Since then, there have been five released films and a television series, as well as a video game.
Films
[edit]| Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriter(s) | Producers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Crow | May 13, 1994 | Alex Proyas | David J. Schow and John Shirley | Edward R. Pressman & Jeff Most |
| The Crow: City of Angels | August 30, 1996 | Tim Pope | David S. Goyer | |
| The Crow: Salvation | January 23, 2000 | Bharat Nalluri | Chip Johannessen | |
| The Crow: Wicked Prayer | July 19, 2005 | Lance Mungia | Lance Mungia, Jeff Most and Sean Hood | |
| The Crow | August 23, 2024 | Rupert Sanders | Zach Baylin and Will Schneider | Edward R. Pressman, Molly Hassell, Victor Hadida, John Jencks & Samuel Hadida |
Television
[edit]| Series | Season | Episodes | Originally released | Network | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Crow: Stairway to Heaven | 1 | 22 | September 25, 1998 | May 22, 1999 | Syndication | |
Unmade films
[edit]The Crow: The Bride
[edit]In the 90s, James O'Barr wanted to pursue a female-led installment of The Crow called The Crow: The Bride which would've followed a woman killed on her wedding day who would return seeking revenge.[1] O'Barr had been inspired by a news story he'd read in which Chicago gangsters robbing a church ended up at a wedding where a shoot out occurred with one of the guests who was an off-duty cop and 13 people were killed.[1] When O'Barr pitched the concept to Miramax it was rejected as they didn't believe audiences would pay to see an action film with a female lead.[1]
The Crow: 2037
[edit]Initial development on a third Crow film was announced in August 1997, when Rob Zombie was attached to make a directorial debut with The Crow: 2037.[2] White Zombie covered the KC and the Sunshine Band hit "I'm Your Boogie Man" for the soundtrack of The Crow: City of Angels, and after seeing Rob Zombie's work on the video he produced for the song, Edward Pressman offered Zombie the opportunity to helm the third Crow film.[2] Had the film been made, Zombie planned to shift focus in tone from the revenge angle of the previous two entries, to a more horror based approach. The film would've began in 2010, when a young boy and his mother are murdered on Halloween night by a Satanic priest. A year later, the boy is resurrected as the Crow. Twenty-seven years later, and unaware of his past, he has become a bounty hunter on a collision course with his now all-powerful killer.[2] While producers responded favorably to Zombie's proposal for a third "The Crow" film, producers Pressman and Most ultimately decided it wasn't the best fit for a Crow film and was better served as a standalone work.[3] Zombie himself spoke of his frustration with experience after spending 18 months working on the film often dealing with the indecisiveness of the producers who according to him would change their mind as to what they wanted on any given day which ultimately lead to Zombie leaving the project.[4]
The Crow: Lazarus
[edit]In July 2000, rapper DMX had been in discussions with producers about a fourth Crow film titled The Crow: Lazarus about a rapper who chooses to leave the music scene for the love of a woman and is killed during a drive-by shooting. The rapper is then reincarnated as The Crow in order to take revenge on the gang responsible for his death.[5] Production had been slated to begin in November of that year, but the project ultimately never came to be.[6]
Cast
[edit]Crew
[edit]| Crew | Film | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Crow | The Crow: City of Angels |
The Crow: Salvation | The Crow: Wicked Prayer |
The Crow | |
| 1994 | 1996 | 2000 | 2005 | 2024 | |
| Composer | Graeme Revell | Marco Beltrami | Jamie Christopherson | Volker Bertelmann | |
| Director of Photography | Dariusz Wolski | Jean-Yves Escoffier | Carolyn Chen | Kurt Brabbee | Steve Annis[7] |
| Editor(s) | Dov Hoenig M. Scott Smith |
|
Howard E. Smith | Dean Holland | Jason Ballantine |
| Production company |
|
Dimension Films |
|
|
|
| Distributor | Miramax Films | Dimension Films | |||
Reception
[edit]Box office performance
[edit]| Film | Release date | Box office gross | Budget | Reference | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US/Canada | Other territories |
Worldwide | ||||
| The Crow | May 13, 1994 | $50,693,129 | $43,000,000 | $93,693,129 | $23 million | [8][9] |
| The Crow: City of Angels | August 30, 1996 | $17,917,287 | $6,931,174 | $24,848,461 | $13 million | [10][11] |
| The Crow: Salvation | January 23, 2000 | — | — | — | $10 million[citation needed] | |
| The Crow: Wicked Prayer | June 3, 2005 | — | — | — | — | |
| The Crow | August 23, 2024 | $9,275,659 | $14,723,447 | $23,999,106 | $50 million | [12][13][14] |
| Total | $77,886,075 | $64,654,621 | $142,540,696 | $96 million | ||
Critical response
[edit]| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
|---|---|---|
| The Crow (1994) | 84% (63 reviews)[15] | 71 (14 reviews)[16] |
| The Crow: City of Angels | 11% (36 reviews)[17] | — |
| The Crow: Salvation | 18% (11 reviews)[18] | — |
| The Crow: Wicked Prayer | 0% (9 reviews)[19] | — |
| The Crow (2024) | 22% (131 reviews)[20] | 30 (31 reviews)[21] |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Miska, Brad (October 31, 2017). "'The Crow' Creator Wanted a Female-led Sequel About a Vengeful Bride". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
- ^ a b c "Third 'Crow' to fly". Variety. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
- ^ Beeler, Michael (April 2000). "The Crow: Salvation". Cinefantastique. Fourth Castle Micromedia. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
- ^ Dumars, Denise (April 2001). "Rob Zombie". Cinefantastique. Fourth Castle Micromedia. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
- ^ "Edward Furlong To Star In 'The Crow: Wicked Prayer'". MTV. Archived from the original on September 11, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
- ^ "DMX Signs On To Resurrect "The Crow" Film Series". MTV. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
- ^ "Steve Annis | LUX". www.luxartists.net. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
- ^ "The Crow (1994)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
- ^ "Worldwide rentals beat domestic take". Variety. February 13, 1995. p. 28.
- ^ "The Crow: City of Angels". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on November 12, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
- ^ "The Crow: City of Angels (1996)". JPBox-Office. Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
- ^ Kit, Borys (2022-04-01). "Bill Skarsgard to Star in 'The Crow' Reboot, Rupert Sanders Directing (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
- ^ "The Crow (2024)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
- ^ "The Crow (2024)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
- ^ "The Crow (1994)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
- ^ "The Crow (1994)". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
- ^ "The Crow: City of Angels". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
- ^ "The Crow - Salvation". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
- ^ "The Crow: Wicked Prayer". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
- ^ "The Crow (2024)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
- ^ "The Crow (2024)". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 2, 2024.