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''Pixels'' is a 2015
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...
directed by
Chris Columbus Christopher Columbus was an explorer born in Genoa, Italy. Christopher Columbus or Chris Columbus may also refer to: People * Chris Columbus (musician) (1902–2002), American jazz drummer * Chris Columbus (filmmaker) (born 1958), American direc ...
and produced by
Allen Covert Allen Stephen Covert (born October 12, 1964) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for his starring role in the 2006 comedy film '' Grandma's Boy'', and his supporting actor role in the movie '' Strange Wilderne ...
, Mark Radcliffe and
Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1995, before going on to star in numerous Hollywood films, those of wh ...
, who starred in the lead role. Based on the 2010 short film of the same name by Patrick Jean, the film was written by Tim Herlihy and Timothy Dowling, from a story by Herlihy. The film co-stars
Kevin James Kevin George Knipfing (born April 26, 1965), better known by his stage name Kevin James, is an American comedian and actor. In television, James played Doug Heffernan on ''The King of Queens'' from 1998 to 2007, and receieved a Primetime Emmy ...
,
Michelle Monaghan Michelle Lynn Monaghan ( ; born March 23, 1976) is an American actress, best known for her starring roles in ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'' (2005), '' Gone Baby Gone'' (2007), '' Made of Honor'' (2008), '' Eagle Eye'' (2008), '' Trucker'' (2008), ''Sou ...
,
Peter Dinklage Peter Hayden Dinklage (; born June 11, 1969) is an American film, television and stage actor. He received international recognition for portraying Tyrion Lannister on the HBO television series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), for which he ...
,
Josh Gad Joshua Ilan Gad (born February 23, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Olaf in the '' Frozen'' franchise, playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical '' The Book of Mormon'', and playing Le Fou in the live-action ada ...
and Brian Cox. Combining
computer-animated Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refer ...
video game characters and
visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...
, the film follows an alien race misinterpreting video feeds of classic arcade games as a declaration of war, resulting in them invading Earth using technology inspired by 1980s games such as ''
Pac-Man originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...
'', ''
Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Tomohiro Nishikado. It was manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and licensed to the Midway division of Bally for overseas distribution. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed shooter an ...
'', ''
Arkanoid is a 1986 block breaker arcade game developed and published by Taito. In North America, it was published by Romstar. Controlling a paddle-like craft known as the Vaus, the player is tasked with clearing a formation of colorful blocks by deflect ...
'', ''
Galaga is a 1981 fixed shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco. In North America, it was released by Midway Manufacturing. It is the sequel to '' Galaxian'' (1979), Namco's first major video game hit in arcades. Controlling a star ...
'', ''
Centipede Centipedes (from New Latin , "hundred", and Latin , " foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', lip, and New Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, ...
'' and ''
Donkey Kong is a video game franchise created by Shigeru Miyamoto and owned by Nintendo. It follows the adventures of a gorilla named Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong and his clan of other Ape, apes and monkeys. The franchise primarily consists of plat ...
''. To counter the invasion, the United States hires former arcade champions to lead the planet's defense.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as ...
on the film began on May 28, 2014, in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
; filming was completed in three months. Produced by Columbus's
1492 Pictures 1492 Pictures is an American film production company founded by Chris Columbus, Mark Radcliffe and Michael Barnathan in 1994. The name is a play on Columbus's more famous namesake, Christopher Columbus, and his 1492 landing in the Americas. In a ...
and Sandler's Happy Madison Productions, ''Pixels'' was released theatrically by
Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the mu ...
(via
Sony Pictures Releasing Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group (commonly known as Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, formerly known as the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group until 2013, and abbreviated as SPMPG) is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainmen ...
) in the United States on July 24, 2015, in 2D, 3D, and
IMAX 3D IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme ...
formats. ''Pixels'' received generally negative reviews and grossed $244 million worldwide against a production budget of between $88 million and $129 million, similar to other video game films especially ''
Wreck-It Ralph ''Wreck-It Ralph'' is a 2012 American Computer-animated film, computer-animated comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The List of Walt Disney Animation Studios films, 52nd Disney animated f ...
'' (2012), '' Hitman: Agent 47'' (2015) and ''
Need for Speed ''Need for Speed'' (''NFS'') is a racing game franchise published by Electronic Arts and currently developed by Criterion Games, the developers of ''Burnout''. The series generally centers around illicit street racing and tasks players to c ...
'' (2014). This was Sandler's last theatrically released film until the release of '' Uncut Gems'' (2019).


Plot

At a video game arcade in 1982 with his friend Will Cooper, 13-year-old Sam Brenner seemingly loses a championship game of ''
Donkey Kong is a video game franchise created by Shigeru Miyamoto and owned by Nintendo. It follows the adventures of a gorilla named Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong and his clan of other Ape, apes and monkeys. The franchise primarily consists of plat ...
'' to obnoxious Eddie "The Fireblaster" Plant.
Videocassette Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocasset ...
footage of the event is included in a
time capsule A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ...
launched into space. In the present day, Brenner is an
electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
installer while Cooper is an unpopular
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
. In
Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
, the
Andersen Air Force Base Andersen Air Force Base (Andersen AFB, AAFB) is a United States Air Force base located primarily within the village of Yigo in the United States territory of Guam. The host unit at Andersen AFB is the 36th Wing (36 WG), assigned to the Pacific ...
is besieged by an extraterrestrial force attacking in the form of ''
Galaga is a 1981 fixed shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco. In North America, it was released by Midway Manufacturing. It is the sequel to '' Galaxian'' (1979), Namco's first major video game hit in arcades. Controlling a star ...
'' and a soldier is abducted. Brenner works at the home of divorced
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
Lieutenant Colonel Violet van Patten, and the two are separately summoned to the
White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...
. Upon seeing the video footage and meeting with Ludlow "The Wonder Kid" Lamonsoff, Brenner deduces that the aliens have somehow mistaken the videocassette images for a declaration of war, and are attacking Earth with a strange technology that allows them to morph into the video games featured at the championship. The aliens interrupt a television broadcast using footage from the cassette, challenging the people of Earth to a battle where if the aliens win three times, they will conquer the planet. Brenner and Cooper are unable to stop one of the attacks as the
Taj Mahal The Taj Mahal (; ) is an Islamic ivory-white marble mausoleum on the right bank of the river Yamuna in the Indian city of Agra. It was commissioned in 1631 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan () to house the tomb of his favourite wife, ...
is damaged by the aliens in the form of ''
Arkanoid is a 1986 block breaker arcade game developed and published by Taito. In North America, it was published by Romstar. Controlling a paddle-like craft known as the Vaus, the player is tasked with clearing a formation of colorful blocks by deflect ...
'' and a bystander is abducted. Brenner and Ludlow train
Navy SEALs The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting sm ...
to play the games. Violet develops
raygun A raygun is a science-fiction directed-energy weapon that releases energy, usually with destructive effect.Jeff Prucher, '' Brave New Words: The Oxford Dictionary of Science Fiction,'' Oxford University Press, 2007, page 162 They have vario ...
s that are effective against the aliens. The team later heads to
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, where the aliens attack Hyde Park in the form of ''
Centipede Centipedes (from New Latin , "hundred", and Latin , " foot") are predatory arthropods belonging to the class Chilopoda (Ancient Greek , ''kheilos'', lip, and New Latin suffix , "foot", describing the forcipules) of the subphylum Myriapoda, ...
''. The soldiers begin to lose, so Brenner and Ludlow step in and shoot them down. The aliens send congratulations and a "
trophy A trophy is a tangible, durable reminder of a specific achievement, and serves as a recognition or evidence of merit. Trophies are often awarded for sporting events, from youth sports to professional level athletics. In many sports medals (or, i ...
" in the form of the ''
Duck Hunt is a 1984 light gun shooter video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) video game console and the Nintendo Vs. System arcade hardware. The game was first released in April 1984, in Japan for the ...
'' dog to an old lady. Ludlow and Cooper retrieve Eddie from a prison sentence for fraud before going to
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. There, the team must fight an alien taking the form of a giant
Pac-Man originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...
, playing as the
ghosts A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to re ...
.
Toru Iwatani is a Japanese video game designer who spent much of his career working for Namco. He is best known as the creator of the arcade game ''Pac-Man'' (1980). Early life Iwatani was born in the Meguro ward of Tokyo, Japan on January 25, 1955. While ...
, creator of ''
Pac-Man originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...
'', tries to reason with Pac-Man peacefully, but gets his hand bitten off. Brenner, Ludlow, and Eddie overcome the challenge using modified
Mini Cooper Mini Cooper may refer to: *Cars of the original Mini series called the "Mini Cooper", made by the British Motor Corporation and its successors 1961–1971, and 1990–2000 *Cars of the Mini (marque), including a number of different models produced ...
cars, but Violet notices Eddie moved at supersonic speeds around the board. Brenner is able to trick Pac-Man into going after him once the effects of the cherry run out. They win
Q*Bert ''Q*bert'' (also known as ''Qbert'') is an arcade video game developed and published for the North American market by Gottlieb in 1982. It is a Video game graphics, 2D action game with Puzzle video game, puzzle elements that uses Isometric video ...
as a trophy. During a celebratory party, however, the aliens announce that the challenge for the planet has been forfeited because someone cheated. Violet's son Matty discovers that not only did Eddie use a speed cheat during the battle against Pac-Man, but while playing Donkey Kong against Brenner as well. Eddie flees while Matty is abducted by the aliens. The aliens launch a massive attack on Washington, D.C. using an army of video game characters and enemies. Cooper joins the team, while Ludlow stays to fight. An alien takes the form of "Lady Lisa", a video game character on whom Ludlow has had a crush since childhood. Ludlow persuades Lisa to choose love and side with the humans as Eddie, wishing to make amends, returns to fight. Brenner, Violet and Cooper are summoned to the aliens' mothership for one last chance to save Earth, where they face their leader, who takes the form of
Donkey Kong is a video game franchise created by Shigeru Miyamoto and owned by Nintendo. It follows the adventures of a gorilla named Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong and his clan of other Ape, apes and monkeys. The franchise primarily consists of plat ...
, on the starting level with the aliens' captives at the top level. As the group dodges barrels and fireballs, Brenner is losing hope until Matty reveals Eddie cheated at Donkey Kong, meaning that Brenner was the world's best Donkey Kong player. This restored his spirit and allowed him to keep fighting. Once Brenner defeats Donkey Kong, the aliens' forces, including Lisa, disappear from Earth. The team is hailed as heroes and Cooper manages to reach a peace agreement with the aliens. Eddie apologizes to Brenner for cheating, and although Ludlow is saddened that Lisa is gone, Q*Bert transforms its likeness to Lady Lisa. Brenner and Violet become a couple while Eddie gets to meet
Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) fo ...
and
Martha Stewart Martha Helen Stewart (, ; born August 3, 1941) is an American retail businesswoman, writer, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing pu ...
. The aliens restore everything on Earth, including Iwatani's hand, before their departure. A year later, Lady Lisa and Ludlow marry and have Q*Bert-like children.


Cast

*
Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1995, before going on to star in numerous Hollywood films, those of wh ...
as Sam Brenner, a former arcade video game champion, Cooper's childhood friend, and the leader of the Arcaders. ** Anthony Ippolito as young Brenner *
Kevin James Kevin George Knipfing (born April 26, 1965), better known by his stage name Kevin James, is an American comedian and actor. In television, James played Doug Heffernan on ''The King of Queens'' from 1998 to 2007, and receieved a Primetime Emmy ...
as Will " Chewie" Cooper, the
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...
, Brenner's childhood friend, and a member of the Arcaders. ** Jared Riley as young Cooper *
Michelle Monaghan Michelle Lynn Monaghan ( ; born March 23, 1976) is an American actress, best known for her starring roles in ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'' (2005), '' Gone Baby Gone'' (2007), '' Made of Honor'' (2008), '' Eagle Eye'' (2008), '' Trucker'' (2008), ''Sou ...
as Lieutenant Colonel Violet van Patten, a unique weapons developer and specialist for the military and a member of the Arcaders. *
Peter Dinklage Peter Hayden Dinklage (; born June 11, 1969) is an American film, television and stage actor. He received international recognition for portraying Tyrion Lannister on the HBO television series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), for which he ...
as Eddie "The Fireblaster" Plant, Brenner's former rival and a member of the Arcaders. His appearance and personality are styled after real-life discredited ''
Pac-Man originally called ''Puck Man'' in Japan, is a 1980 maze action video game developed and released by Namco for arcades. In North America, the game was released by Midway Manufacturing as part of its licensing agreement with Namco America. Th ...
'' and ''
Donkey Kong is a video game franchise created by Shigeru Miyamoto and owned by Nintendo. It follows the adventures of a gorilla named Donkey Kong (character), Donkey Kong and his clan of other Ape, apes and monkeys. The franchise primarily consists of plat ...
'' champion
Billy Mitchell William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force. Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, command ...
. ** Andrew Bambridge as young Eddie *
Josh Gad Joshua Ilan Gad (born February 23, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Olaf in the '' Frozen'' franchise, playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical '' The Book of Mormon'', and playing Le Fou in the live-action ada ...
as Ludlow "The Wonder Kid" Lamonsoff, a conspiracy-theory-obsessed genius with poor social skills and a member of the Arcaders. ** Jacob Shinder as young Ludlow * Brian Cox as Admiral James Porter, a military heavyweight. *
Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean on 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Bean made his professional debut in a theatre production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983. Retaining his Yorkshire ac ...
as Corporal Hill *
Jane Krakowski Jane Krakowski (; ; born October 11, 1968) is an American actress, comedienne, and singer. She is best known for her starring role as Jenna Maroney in the NBC satirical comedy series ''30 Rock'' (2006–2013, 2020), for which she received four ...
as Jane Cooper, the
First Lady of the United States The first lady of the United States (FLOTUS) is the title held by the hostess of the White House, usually the wife of the president of the United States, concurrent with the president's term in office. Although the first lady's role has never ...
and Cooper's wife. *
Affion Crockett Affion Crockett (born August 12, 1974) is an American actor and comedian. Early life Crockett was raised in Germany and Fayetteville, North Carolina. Career Crockett appeared in HBO's ''Def Comedy Jam'' in 1996, demonstrating his impression ...
as Sergeant Dylan Cohan, a soldier present during the Guam attack. *
Ashley Benson Ashley Victoria Benson (born December 18, 1989) is an American actress, model, and singer. She is known for her role as Hanna Marin in the teen mystery-drama series ''Pretty Little Liars'' (2010–2017). Benson has starred in films, including ' ...
as Lady Lisa, the protagonist of the video game ''Dojo Quest''. *
Matt Lintz Matthew Lintz (born May 23, 2001) is an American actor known for playing Matty van Patten in ''Pixels'', Henry in the AMC television series '' The Walking Dead'' and Bruno in ''Ms. Marvel''. Career In 2018, Lintz played the older version of He ...
as Matty van Patten, Violet's son. *
Lainie Kazan Lainie Kazan (born Lainie Levine; May 15, 1940) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for ''St. Elsewhere'' and the 1993 Tony Award for Best Featured Actr ...
as Mickey Lamonsoff, Ludlow's grandmother.
Dan Aykroyd Daniel Edward Aykroyd ( ; born July 1, 1952) is a Canadian actor, comedian, producer, musician and writer. He was an original member of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on ''Saturday Night Live'' (1975–1979). During his tenure on ''SNL'' ...
plays the emcee of the video game championship.
Nick Swardson Nicholas Roger Swardson (born October 9, 1976) ...
plays a bystander seen during the Pac-Man attack. Dan Patrick, Robert Smigel, and
Steve Koren Steve Koren is an American writer/producer and screenwriter. Most notably, he has written for ''Saturday Night Live'', ''Seinfeld'', and ''Veep''. He also wrote or co-wrote the movies ''Bruce Almighty'', ''Click'', ''A Night at the Roxbury'', ...
play reporters at the White House. Celebrities
Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American inactive professional tennis player. Considered among the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) fo ...
and
Martha Stewart Martha Helen Stewart (, ; born August 3, 1941) is an American retail businesswoman, writer, and television personality. As founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, she gained success through a variety of business ventures, encompassing pu ...
have cameo roles as themselves.
Matt Frewer Matthew George Frewer (born January 4, 1958) is an American-Canadian actor, singer and comedian. He portrayed the 1980s icon Max Headroom in the 1985 TV movie and 1987 television series of the same names. He became prominent when playing role ...
reprises his role as the voice of Max Headroom, a role he made famous during the 1980s.
Steve Wiebe Steven J. Wiebe (; born January 3, 1969) is an American two-time world champion of the video game ''Donkey Kong'', most recently holding the title from September 20, 2010, to January 10, 2011, with a high score of 1,064,500. Wiebe was the first p ...
, a previous ''Donkey Kong'' and ''
Donkey Kong Jr. is a 1982 arcade platform game that was released by Nintendo. It is the sequel to ''Donkey Kong'', but with the roles reversed compared to its predecessor: Mario (previously named "Jumpman") is now the villain and Donkey Kong Jr. is trying t ...
'' World Record holder, plays a military scientist.
Denis Akiyama Denis Van Akiyama (May 28, 1952 – June 28, 2018) was a Canadian actor, best known as providing the voice of Iceman/Bobby Drake, Silver Samurai/Kenuichio Harada and Sunfire in ''X-Men'' and Malachite in the original English version of ''Sailor ...
portrays
Toru Iwatani is a Japanese video game designer who spent much of his career working for Namco. He is best known as the creator of the arcade game ''Pac-Man'' (1980). Early life Iwatani was born in the Meguro ward of Tokyo, Japan on January 25, 1955. While ...
, the creator of the ''Pac-Man'' franchise, while the real Iwatani has a cameo role as a repairman at the arcade the Arcaders used to play at.
Fiona Shaw Fiona Shaw (born Fiona Mary Wilson; 10 July 1958) is an Irish film and theatre actress. She is known for her roles as Petunia Dursley in the ''Harry Potter'' film series (2001–2010), Marnie Stonebrook in the fourth season of the HBO ser ...
plays the
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern p ...
. Holly Beavon and
Billy West William Richard Werstine (born April 16, 1952), known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor. His voice roles include Bugs Bunny in the 1996 film ''Space Jam'' and several subsequent projects, the title characters of ''Doug'' ...
provide additional character voices.


Production


Development

The film is based on Patrick Jean's video-game-themed short film, ''
Pixels In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the sm ...
''.
Adam Sandler Adam Richard Sandler (born September 9, 1966) is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1990 to 1995, before going on to star in numerous Hollywood films, those of wh ...
hired Tim Herlihy to write the film, a draft that Herlihy had said that everybody at the studio "hated". Eventually he and Sandler came up with the concept of having
Kevin James Kevin George Knipfing (born April 26, 1965), better known by his stage name Kevin James, is an American comedian and actor. In television, James played Doug Heffernan on ''The King of Queens'' from 1998 to 2007, and receieved a Primetime Emmy ...
be the President of the United States and rewrote the film incorporating this element. In July 2012, Tim Dowling was hired to rewrite the film.
Seth Gordon Seth Lewis Gordon (born July 15, 1974) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and film editor. He has produced and directed for film and television, including for PBS, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the United Nations Sta ...
was attached as executive producer and possibly direct the film.
Chris Columbus Christopher Columbus was an explorer born in Genoa, Italy. Christopher Columbus or Chris Columbus may also refer to: People * Chris Columbus (musician) (1902–2002), American jazz drummer * Chris Columbus (filmmaker) (born 1958), American direc ...
became involved in the project in May 2013. Columbus said he first met Sandler to discuss a possible remake of '' Hello Ghost'', and as he left the meeting, the director was handed a script for ''Pixels''. The script affected Columbus, who considered it "one of the most original ideas I had seen since the Amblin days" and a good opportunity to harken back to the 1980s comedies he worked on. Characters from classic
arcade game An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily games of skill and include arcade vi ...
s such as ''
Space Invaders is a 1978 shoot 'em up arcade game developed by Tomohiro Nishikado. It was manufactured and sold by Taito in Japan, and licensed to the Midway division of Bally for overseas distribution. ''Space Invaders'' was the first fixed shooter an ...
'', ''Pac-Man'', ''
Frogger is a 1981 arcade action game developed by Konami and manufactured by Sega. In North America, it was released by Sega/Gremlin. The object of the game is to direct a series of frogs to their homes by crossing a busy road and a hazardous rive ...
'', ''Galaga'' and ''Donkey Kong'', among several others, were licensed for use in the film. There were originally plans to include a scene where the
Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China (, literally "ten thousand ''li'' wall") is a series of fortifications that were built across the historical northern borders of ancient Chinese states and Imperial China as protection against various nomadic grou ...
is damaged, but the concept was removed from the script in hopes to improve the film's chances in the Chinese market.


Casting

On February 26, 2014, it was announced that Sandler would play the lead role in the film, while James and
Josh Gad Joshua Ilan Gad (born February 23, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Olaf in the '' Frozen'' franchise, playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical '' The Book of Mormon'', and playing Le Fou in the live-action ada ...
were in early talks to join the cast. On March 28,
Peter Dinklage Peter Hayden Dinklage (; born June 11, 1969) is an American film, television and stage actor. He received international recognition for portraying Tyrion Lannister on the HBO television series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), for which he ...
was also in final talks to join the film, playing the fourth and final male lead.
Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...
was originally considered for the female lead, but declined due to scheduling conflicts. On April 4,
Michelle Monaghan Michelle Lynn Monaghan ( ; born March 23, 1976) is an American actress, best known for her starring roles in ''Kiss Kiss Bang Bang'' (2005), '' Gone Baby Gone'' (2007), '' Made of Honor'' (2008), '' Eagle Eye'' (2008), '' Trucker'' (2008), ''Sou ...
joined the film to star as the female lead. On June 11, Brian Cox joined the cast, and plays military heavyweight Admiral Porter. The part of "Lady Lisa", a beautiful warrior from the fictional 1980s video game ''Dojo Quest'', was offered to
Elisha Cuthbert Elisha Ann Cuthbert Phaneuf (; born 30 November 1982) is a Canadian actress and model. As a child actress, she made her first televised appearance as an extra in the Canadian horror-themed series for children '' Are You Afraid of the Dark?'' and ...
, but she turned down the role, which went to
Ashley Benson Ashley Victoria Benson (born December 18, 1989) is an American actress, model, and singer. She is known for her role as Hanna Marin in the teen mystery-drama series ''Pretty Little Liars'' (2010–2017). Benson has starred in films, including ' ...
. On July 9,
Jane Krakowski Jane Krakowski (; ; born October 11, 1968) is an American actress, comedienne, and singer. She is best known for her starring role as Jenna Maroney in the NBC satirical comedy series ''30 Rock'' (2006–2013, 2020), for which she received four ...
joined the cast as the First Lady. In a May 2015 interview, competitive gamer
Billy Mitchell William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force. Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, command ...
, after whom Dinklage's character is modeled, acknowledged that the character was based on him and expressed approval of the casting, calling Dinklage "a good actor" and "a good guy".


Filming

The film was greenlit on a production budget of $135 million, but according to documents from the
Sony Pictures hack On November 24, 2014, a hacker group identifying itself as " Guardians of Peace" leaked a release of confidential data from the film studio Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE). The data included personal information about Sony Pictures employe ...
, Doug Belgrad was able to negotiate it down to $110 million. On March 25, 2014, the Ontario Media Development Corporation confirmed that the film would be shot in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
from May 28 to September 9 at Pinewood Toronto Studios.
Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as ...
on the film commenced in Toronto on June 2, 2014, using downtown streets decorated to resemble New York City. Given sequences such as the Pac-Man chase happened at night, often the filmmakers would close the streets off from traffic at 7 PM, and redecorate to resemble New York until it was dark enough, filming from 9:30 PM up to 5:30 AM. On July 29, filming was taking place outside of Markham, Ontario. Filming was also done in the
Rouge Park Rouge National Urban Park is a national urban park in Ontario, Canada. The park is centred around the Rouge River and its tributaries in the Greater Toronto Area. The southern portion of the park is situated around the mouth of river in ...
area, and extras were dressing in costume at Markham's Rouge Valley Mennonite Church. On August 4, actors Josh Gad, Peter Dinklage and Ashley Benson were spotted in Toronto filming scenes for the film on
Bay Street Bay Street is a major thoroughfare in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the centre of Toronto's Financial District and is often used by metonymy to refer to Canada's financial services industry since succeeding Montreal's St. James ...
, which was transformed into a city block in Washington, D.C., and littered with wrecked vehicles and giant holes in the pavement. The Ontario Government Buildings was doubled to transform into a federal office building in Washington. Actors were aiming at aliens, which could not be seen, but were added later with
computer-generated imagery Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the use of computer graphics to create or contribute to images in art, printed media, video games, simulators, and visual effects in films, television programs, shorts, commercials, and videos. The image ...
. On August 26, 2014, filming took place in
Cobourg Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It ...
. Filming was completed in three months, with 12 hours of shooting a day.


Visual effects

Most of the visual effects for ''Pixels'' were handled by
Digital Domain Digital Domain is an American visual effects and digital production company based in Playa Vista, Los Angeles, California. The company is known for creating digital imagery for feature films, advertising and games from its locations in Californ ...
and
Sony Pictures Imageworks Sony Pictures Imageworks Inc. is a Canadian visual effects and computer animation studio headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, with an additional office on the Sony Pictures Studios lot in Culver City, California. SPI is a unit of Sony Pi ...
, with nine other VFX companies playing supporting roles, all under the leadership of supervisor Matthew Butler and producer Denise Davis. Early tests began in October 2013, with the majority of the effects work starting after principal photography wrapped in September 2014, and finishing by June 2015. The video game characters would be built out of boxy
voxel In 3D computer graphics, a voxel represents a value on a regular grid in three-dimensional space. As with pixels in a 2D bitmap, voxels themselves do not typically have their position (i.e. coordinates) explicitly encoded with their values. I ...
s to resemble the low resolution
pixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a raster image, or the smallest point in an all points addressable display device. In most digital display devices, pixels are the ...
-based arcades, while also emitting light and having
raster scan A raster scan, or raster scanning, is the rectangular pattern of image capture and reconstruction in television. By analogy, the term is used for raster graphics, the pattern of image storage and transmission used in most computer bitmap image ...
defects in its animation to appear more like they came from a
CRT monitor A cathode-ray tube (CRT) is a vacuum tube containing one or more electron guns, which emit electron beams that are manipulated to display images on a phosphorescent screen. The images may represent electrical waveforms ( oscilloscope), pi ...
. Along with the actual sprite sheets, a major inspiration to build the 3D versions was the cabinet art, where Imageworks visual effects supervisor Daniel Kramer considered that "was the intention the game creators wanted their technology to be, but the technology couldn't live up to creating that." The most complex characters to model were Q*Bert, which interacted the most with humans and had the problem of looking round despite being built out of cubes, and Donkey Kong, who the animators wanted to make sure remained recognizable even in different angles.


Music

The score was composed by
Henry Jackman Henry Pryce Jackman (born 1974) is an English composer. He composed music for films such as '' Kong: Skull Island'', '' X-Men: First Class'', '' Winnie the Pooh'', '' Wreck-It Ralph'', '' Puss in Boots'', '' Monsters vs. Aliens'', '' Captain ...
. In June 2015,
Waka Flocka Flame Juaquin James Malphurs (born May 31, 1986), known professionally as Waka Flocka Flame, is an American rapper. Signing to 1017 Brick Squad and Warner Bros. Records in 2009, he became a mainstream artist with the release of his singles "O Let's ...
released a single entitled "Game On", featuring
Good Charlotte Good Charlotte is an American rock band from Waldorf, Maryland that formed in 1996. Since 2005, the band's lineup has consisted of twin brothers Joel Madden (lead vocals) and Benji Madden (guitar and vocals), Paul Thomas (bass), Billy Martin ( ...
, which serves as part of the film's soundtrack. A rendition of "
We Will Rock You "We Will Rock You" is a song written by Brian May and recorded by British rock band Queen for their 1977 album ''News of the World''. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it number 330 of " The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and it placed at num ...
" by
Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
remixed by Helmut VonLichten is heard during the film's Donkey Kong scenes.


Release


Theatrical

The film was originally scheduled to be released on May 15, 2015, but on August 12, 2014, the release date was pushed to July 24, 2015. In the United States and Canada, it was released in the
Dolby Vision Dolby Vision is a set of technologies developed by Dolby Laboratories for high dynamic range (HDR) video. It covers content creation, distribution, and playback. It includes dynamic metadata that are used to adjust and optimize each frame of the ...
format in
Dolby Cinema Dolby Cinema is a premium cinema created by Dolby Laboratories that combines Dolby proprietary technologies such as Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos, as well as other signature entrance and intrinsic design features. The technology competes with ...
, which is the first film by Sony to ever be released in that format.


Marketing

The first trailer was released on March 19, 2015, and received 34.3 million global views in 24 hours, breaking Sony's previous record held by ''
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'' (internationally titled ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Rise of Electro'') is a 2014 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man. The film was directed by Marc Webb and produced by Avi ...
'' (22 million views in 2014). The second trailer was released on June 13, 2015. Upon release of the trailer, fans of the TV series ''
Futurama ''Futurama'' is an American animated science fiction sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series follows the adventures of the professional slacker Philip J. Fry, who is cryogenically preserved for 1000 years ...
'' noted similarities between the trailer and a 2002 episode of the show, "
Anthology of Interest II "Anthology of Interest II" is the 18th episode of ''Futurama''s third season . It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on January 6, 2002. This episode, as well as the earlier " Anthology of Interest I", serves to showcase thr ...
". Sony created an "Electric Dreams Factory Arcade" with many of the arcade games featured in the film for various
fan convention Fan convention (also known as con or fan meeting), a term that predates 1942, is an event in which fans of a particular topic gather to participate and hold programs and other events, and to meet experts, famous personalities, and each other. Some ...
s, such as the 2014
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is ...
and the 2015 Wizard World Philadelphia. In Brazil, a promotional video was released on July 2, 2015, showing Adam Sandler interacting with Monica and
Jimmy Five Jimmy Five, known as Cebolinha in Portuguese, is one of ''Monica and Friends'' main characters. He was created in 1960, at first as a support character for Franklin and Blu who the following year became the protagonist of his own series of new ...
from local comic ''
Monica's Gang ''Monica's Gang'' or ''Monica and Friends'' (Portuguese: ''Turma da Mônica''; British English: ''Monica & Friends'') is a Brazilian comic book series and media franchise created by Mauricio de Sousa. The series originated in a newspaper comic ...
''.


Copyright takedown controversy

Columbia Pictures hired Entura International to send
Digital Millennium Copyright Act The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a 1998 United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or ...
takedown notices to websites hosting user-uploaded videos of the film. The company proceeded to file DMCA takedown notices indiscriminately against several Vimeo videos containing the word "Pixels" in the title, including the 2010 award-winning short film the film is based on, the official film trailer, a 2006 independently produced Cypriot film uploaded by the Independent Museum of Contemporary Art, a 2010 university work by a student of the
Bucharest National University of Arts The National University of Arts in Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea Naţională de Arte) is a university in Bucharest preparing students in fine arts. The National University of Arts is a higher education institution in Bucharest. History The Nat ...
, a royalty-free stock footage clip and an independently produced project. The takedown notice sent by Entura stated that the works infringe a copyright they had the right to enforce, and once the notice was made public, it was withdrawn.


Home media

''Pixels'' was released on Blu-ray (3D and 2D) and DVD on October 20, 2015. According to The Numbers, the domestic DVD sales are $7,181,924 and the Blu-ray sales are $6,426,936.


Reception


Box office

''Pixels'' grossed $78.7 million in North America and $164.9 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $244.9 million. Reports of the production budget of the film range from $88 million to $129 million, with Sony Pictures officially stating the cost as $110 million. The film received tax rebates of $19 million for filming in Canada. In the United States and Canada, ''Pixels'' opened alongside '' Paper Towns'', '' Southpaw'' and '' The Vatican Tapes'', in 3,723 theaters. Box office pundits noted that the film's release date caused it to face competition with the first former film and along with the holdovers ''
Ant-Man Ant-Man is the name of several superheroes appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, Ant-Man's first appearance was in ''Tales to Astonish'' #27 (January 1962) but first appeared in cost ...
'' and '' Minions'', all of which were projected to earn around $20 million. However, some analysts suggested the film could open to as high as $30 million and if it failed to hit $30 million, it could have difficulty being profitable unless it earned a significant audience abroad. It made $1.5 million from its Thursday night showings at 2,776 theaters, and topped the box office on its opening day, earning $9.2 million. Through its opening weekend it grossed $24 million from 3,723 theaters, debuting at second place at the box office, behind ''Ant-Man''.


Critical response

On review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
, the film has an approval rating of 18% based on 207 reviews; the average rating is 4/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Much like the worst arcade games from the era that inspired it, ''Pixels'' has little replay value and is hardly worth a quarter." On
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 27 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.
Peter Travers Peter Joseph Travers (born ) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film interview prog ...
of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' gave the film one star out of four, calling it "a 3D metaphor for Hollywood's digital assault on our eyes and brains" and deeming it "relentless and exhausting". In Salon.com, Andrew O'Hehir called the film "another lazy Adam Sandler exercise in 80s Nostalgia", as well as "an overwhelmingly sad experience" characterized by "soul-sucking emptiness". The ''
Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...
'' called it "casually sexist, awkwardly structured, bro-centric" and warned, "Pity the poor souls who go into the comedy blockbuster thinking they've signed up to watch ''
The Lego Movie ''The Lego Movie'' is a 2014 computer-animated adventure comedy film written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller from a story by Lord, Miller, and Dan and Kevin Hageman. Based on the Lego line of construction toys, its story focu ...
'' by way of ''
Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Many ...
''. They'll be disappointed". Joe Neumaier of the ''
New York Daily News The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ...
'' gave the film no stars and wrote, "Someone please retire Adam Sandler. ''Pixels'' is the last straw for this has-been...Every joke is forced, every special effect is un-special...The dipstick ''Pixels'' is about as much fun as a joystick and not even half as smart". "It manages to achieve the weird effect of feeling overlong and choppy at the same time, like someone edited the film with a pair of garden shears," wrote Randy Cordova in ''
The Arizona Republic ''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily Lists of newspapers, newspaper published in Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain ...
''. Kyle Smith wrote in the ''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
'' that ''Pixels'' is "as adolescent as a zit" with jokes "as fresh as the antique store". "''Everything'' is wrong here," wrote Megan Garber in ''
The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'', "cinematically, creatively, maybe even morally. Because ''Pixels'' is one of those bad movies that isn't just casually bad, or shoot-the-moon bad, or too-close-to-the-sun bad, or actually kind of delightfully bad. It is tediously bad. It is bafflingly bad. It is, in its $90 million budget and 104-minute run time, wastefully bad. Its badness seems to come not from failure in the classic sense—a goal set, and unachieved—but from something much worse: laziness. Ambivalence. A certain strain of cinematic nihilism". Peter Sobczynski, writing for
RogerEbert.com ''RogerEbert.com'' is an American film review website that archives reviews written by film critic Roger Ebert for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' and also shares other critics' reviews and essays. The website, underwritten by the ''Chicago Sun-Times ...
, called the premise promising but the execution "abysmal." Conversely, Katie Walsh, reviewing for the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'', was more positive, saying "despite tsunfortunate shortcomings, ''Pixels'' has its funny and fresh moments, thanks in large part to the supporting comic actors and inventive special effects".


Accolades


References


External links

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