# An American Werewolf in Paris
**An American Werewolf in Paris** is a 1997 horror comedy film directed by Anthony Waller and a sequel to [John Landis](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-landis)'s *An American Werewolf in London* (1981), based on characters Landis created. It stars [Tom Everett Scott](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-everett-scott) as American tourist Andy McDermott and [Julie Delpy](https://www.edgepedia.org/julie-delpy) as the Parisian werewolf Serafine Pigot, and it was released in the United States on December 25, 1997.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/american_werewolf_in_paris) • [2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/american-werewolf-in-paris-an-film/american-werewolf-in-paris-an/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | December 25, 1997 (United States, wide release by Walt Disney); May 6, 1998 in France as *Le Loup-garou de Paris*[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/American-Werewolf-in-Paris-An) • [4](https://www.jpbox-office.com/mobile/fichfilm.php?id=3462) |
| Director and writers | Directed by Anthony Waller; written by Tim Burns, Tom Stern, and Waller, from characters created by John Landis[5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/60492) |
| Cast | Tom Everett Scott (Andy McDermott), Julie Delpy (Serafine Pigot), Vince Vieluf (Brad), Phil Buckman (Chris), Julie Bowen (Amy)[6](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118604/fullcredits/) |
| Runtime and rating | 98 minutes; rated R for werewolf violence and gore, and for some sexuality/nudity[5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/60492) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/American-Werewolf-in-Paris-An) |
| Box office | $26,570,463 domestic gross on a reported $22,000,000 budget; opening weekend $7,600,878 in 1,728 theaters[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/American-Werewolf-in-Paris-An) • [4](https://www.jpbox-office.com/mobile/fichfilm.php?id=3462) |
| Critical reception | 6% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (31 reviews) and 30% from audiences; a Metascore of 31; 5.1/10 on IMDb[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/american_werewolf_in_paris) • [7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118604) |
| Filming locations | France, Luxembourg, and Holland[2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/american-werewolf-in-paris-an-film/american-werewolf-in-paris-an/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Three American college graduates, Andy, Brad, and Chris, travel across Europe on a self-styled "Daredevil Tour" and arrive in Paris.[2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/american-werewolf-in-paris-an-film/american-werewolf-in-paris-an/) While planning a bungee jump from the [Eiffel Tower](https://www.edgepedia.org/eiffel-tower), Andy sees Serafine, a woman he takes for the woman of his dreams, apparently about to commit suicide. He jumps to save her, is injured and knocked unconscious, and she escapes.[2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/american-werewolf-in-paris-an-film/american-werewolf-in-paris-an/)
While on a date with Serafine at a nightclub, Andy is attacked and bitten by a werewolf. He then discovers that Serafine is herself a lycanthrope and that he is beginning his own transformation into one of the beasts.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/american_werewolf_in_paris) The film departs from the moonlight rule of the earlier film: the werewolves in the story have developed a serum that allows them to transform at will.[8](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/an-american-werewolf-in-paris) Andy's search for Serafine draws him into a werewolf clan whose members, described in contemporary reviews as right-wing xenophobes, want to rid France of social "inferiors" and American tourists.[9](https://www.metrotimes.com/arts/the-wolf-moves-to-paris-2290266/)
## Production and title
The title has roots in the production of the 1981 original. When John Landis ran into problems with the British acting union Equity during the making of *An American Werewolf in London*, he scouted locations in Paris and considered moving the production to France and renaming the film *An American Werewolf in Paris*.[10](https://www.gamesradar.com/the-story-behind-an-american-werewolf-in-london/) Although Landis had pondered a sequel for years, he was approached for the Paris project and turned it down; the film was instead made from a story by Waller with screenwriters Tim Burns and Tom Stern.[10](https://www.gamesradar.com/the-story-behind-an-american-werewolf-in-london/) • [5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/60492)
The film was produced by Richard Claus for Hollywood Pictures, in association with Cometstone Pictures and J&M Entertainment, and was filmed on location in France, Luxembourg, and Holland.[5](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/60492) • [2](https://d23.com/a-to-z/american-werewolf-in-paris-an-film/american-werewolf-in-paris-an/) The credits acknowledge the source as the characters in *An American Werewolf in London* written by John Landis, though no characters from that film appear.[11](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60492-AN-AMERICAN-WEREWOLF-IN-PARIS?cxt=filmography)
## Visual effects
Where the 1981 film had used [Rick Baker](https://www.edgepedia.org/rick-baker)'s practical makeup effects, the filmmakers decided to progress from prosthetics to computer graphics.[12](https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/bitstreams/16d5761a-c4a9-4c61-b396-3da5d30e1c53/download) The visual effects supervisors were John Grower and Bruce Walters, and Santa Barbara Studios handled the computer-generated werewolf sequences, with animation director James Satoru Straus and CG supervisor Scott Gordon; Pop Film provided digital optical and effects work.[13](https://vfxhq.com/1997/werewolf.html) As with most monster films of the period, a CG version was used for wide and medium shots while closeups used an animatronic werewolf on set.[13](https://vfxhq.com/1997/werewolf.html)
The trade press of the time called the hair rendering on the CG werewolves extraordinary but noted other problems that made the creatures look out of place and synthetic; a transformation shot on a subway train was singled out for looking pasted in.[13](https://vfxhq.com/1997/werewolf.html) The choice has remained the film's most criticized element: [USA Today](https://www.edgepedia.org/usa-today)'s Mike Clark called the computer animation "a herky-jerky cartoon blur that is anything but scary,"[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/american_werewolf_in_paris) and later commentary has repeatedly contrasted the early-generation CGI with the practical transformation effects of the predecessor.[12](https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/bitstreams/16d5761a-c4a9-4c61-b396-3da5d30e1c53/download)
## Reception
The film opened wide on December 25, 1997 in 1,728 theaters and earned $7,600,878 on its opening weekend, 28.6 percent of its eventual $26,570,463 domestic gross, with an average run of 5.6 weeks per theater.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/American-Werewolf-in-Paris-An) Against a reported $22 million production budget, the domestic gross of $26,570,463 gave a gross-to-budget multiple of roughly 1.2.[4](https://www.jpbox-office.com/mobile/fichfilm.php?id=3462) • [14](https://filmdb.co.uk/box-office/movie/an-american-werewolf-in-paris-1997-box-office) In France it drew 263,188 admissions after a May 1998 release.[4](https://www.jpbox-office.com/mobile/fichfilm.php?id=3462)
Critics were largely negative. Rotten Tomatoes records a 6% Tomatometer from 31 reviews, with a critics' consensus calling the film "markedly inferior to its cult classic predecessor in every way" and felled by "clumsy storytelling and chintzy special effects"; audience scores were higher but still low at 30%.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/american_werewolf_in_paris) Roger Ebert, the [Chicago Sun-Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-sun-times) critic and 1975 [Pulitzer Prize](https://www.edgepedia.org/pulitzer-prize) winner for criticism, gave it one of four stars, writing that by the end "any plot discipline... has been lost in an orgy of special effects and general mayhem."[15](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/an-american-werewolf-in-paris-1997) The film's Metascore was 31, and its IMDb rating stands at 5.1/10 from about 29,000 votes.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118604) Some reviewers found compensations: Mick LaSalle of the [San Francisco Chronicle](https://www.edgepedia.org/san-francisco-chronicle) wrote that "Delpy and Scott are able to put it over," and Variety's Derek Elley called it "an enjoyably trashy blend of impressive special effects, low-key refs to Landis's movie, and sudden moments of horror breaking the jokey tone."[16](https://www.cinafilm.com/movies/an-american-werewolf-in-paris-1997/)
## References
1. [An American Werewolf in Paris, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/american_werewolf_in_paris)
2. [An American Werewolf in Paris (film), D23](https://d23.com/a-to-z/american-werewolf-in-paris-an-film/american-werewolf-in-paris-an/)
3. [An American Werewolf in Paris (1997), Box Office and Financial Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/American-Werewolf-in-Paris-An)
4. [Le Loup-garou de Paris, JP Box-Office](https://www.jpbox-office.com/mobile/fichfilm.php?id=3462)
5. [An American Werewolf in Paris (1997), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/60492)
6. [An American Werewolf in Paris (1997), Full cast and crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118604/fullcredits/)
7. [An American Werewolf in Paris (1997), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118604)
8. [An American Werewolf in Paris streaming online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/an-american-werewolf-in-paris)
9. [The wolf moves to Paris, Metro Times](https://www.metrotimes.com/arts/the-wolf-moves-to-paris-2290266/)
10. [The Story Behind An American Werewolf In London, GamesRadar+](https://www.gamesradar.com/the-story-behind-an-american-werewolf-in-london/)
11. [An American Werewolf in Paris (1997), AFI Catalog filmography page](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/60492-AN-AMERICAN-WEREWOLF-IN-PARIS?cxt=filmography)
12. [Creating Believability, Texas A&M University thesis](https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/bitstreams/16d5761a-c4a9-4c61-b396-3da5d30e1c53/download)
13. [VFX HQ: An American Werewolf in Paris](https://vfxhq.com/1997/werewolf.html)
14. [An American Werewolf in Paris (1997) Box Office, FilmDB](https://filmdb.co.uk/box-office/movie/an-american-werewolf-in-paris-1997-box-office)
15. [An American Werewolf in Paris movie review, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/an-american-werewolf-in-paris-1997)
16. [An American Werewolf in Paris (1997) Reviews, Cinafilm](https://www.cinafilm.com/movies/an-american-werewolf-in-paris-1997/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Horror films (individual works) › Vampire and werewolf films*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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