{ "id": "ep5e60z2s2", "slug": "eliminators", "title": "Eliminators", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": 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"https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy" }, { "id": "geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-2", "label": "Science fiction and fantasy films of the 1980s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.us.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-2" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Eliminators (1986 film), also known simply as Eliminators, is a Peter Manoogian science fiction action film from Charles Band's Empire Pictures about the cyborg Mandroid, released 31 January 1986.", "snippet": "Eliminators (1986 film), also known simply as Eliminators, is a Peter Manoogian science fiction action film from Charles Band's Empire Pictures about the cyborg Mandroid, released 31 January 1986.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.science-fiction-fantasy.science-fiction-and-fantasy-films-of-the-2.yr-1986-1989", "markdown": "# Eliminators\n\n**Eliminators** is a 1986 American science fiction action film directed by Peter Manoogian, produced by Charles Band, and distributed by Empire Pictures, in which a cyborg called the Mandroid escapes his creator, a mad scientist who intends to use time travel to rule ancient Rome.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57314-ELIMINATORS) • [2](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/eliminators) It opened in Los Angeles and New York on 31 January 1986.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57314-ELIMINATORS)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | 31 January 1986, wide release by Empire Pictures in 993 theaters[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57314-ELIMINATORS) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Eliminators-%281986%29) |\n| Director / producer | Peter Manoogian; produced by Charles Band for Altar Productions[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57314-ELIMINATORS) |\n| Writers | Paul De Meo and Danny Bilson[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57314-ELIMINATORS) |\n| Principal cast | Andrew Prine (Harry Fontana), Denise Crosby (Colonel Nora Hunter), Patrick Reynolds (Mandroid), Conan Lee (Kuji), Roy Dotrice (Abbott Reeves)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57314-ELIMINATORS) |\n| Filming | Began 10 July 1985 in Madrid, Spain; a three-and-a-half-month shoot, with additional location work in Los Angeles[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57314-ELIMINATORS) |\n| Domestic box office | $4,601,256, with an opening weekend of $1,987,072[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Eliminators-%281986%29) |\n| Rating and runtime | MPAA PG; AFI lists 92 minutes, most current databases list 96 minutes[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57314-ELIMINATORS) • [4](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/eliminators-1986) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nDr. Abbott Reeves ([Roy Dotrice](https://www.edgepedia.org/roy-dotrice)) and his colleague Dr. Takada (Tad Horino) celebrate the return of their experimental \"Mandroid\" pilot from a time-travel mission, during which he brought back an authentic Roman shield. The Mandroid (Patrick Reynolds) remembers nothing of the voyage; when Reeves decides the bionic man should be dismantled, the cyborg escapes and seeks out Nora Hunter ([Denise Crosby](https://www.edgepedia.org/denise-crosby)), a robotics scientist familiar with his design.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57314-ELIMINATORS) • [5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/eliminators)\n\nThe fugitive assembles a small band of specialists: Hunter, the mercenary riverboat guide Harry Fontana ([Andrew Prine](https://www.edgepedia.org/andrew-prine)), and the ninja martial artist Kuji (Conan Lee), together with Hunter's flying robot S.P.O.T., described by the Science Fiction Encyclopedia as a dead ringer for R2-D2 in *Star Wars* (1977). Their target is Reeves's jungle fortress; the scientist, who has offended each of them, plans to fly back in his time machine to ancient Rome and become a [Roman emperor](https://www.edgepedia.org/roman-emperor). The film also features prehistoric humans brought forward in time and a force field.[2](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/eliminators) • [6](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-31-ca-2887-story.html) The marketing tagline ran: \"Mandroid. Mercenary. Scientist. Ninja. Each one a specialist. Together they are ELIMINATORS!\"[7](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/eliminators/20004494/where-to-watch/)\n\n## Production\n\n[Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) began on 10 July 1985 in Madrid, Spain, and ran for about three and a half months; a 5 February 1986 *Variety* review reported that location shooting also took place in Los Angeles.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57314-ELIMINATORS) According to a 19 January 1986 *Los Angeles Times* article, Patrick Reynolds did his own stunt work as the Mandroid, in 105-degree weather.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57314-ELIMINATORS) The crew included cinematographer Mac Ahlberg, editor Andy Horvitch, and production designer Phillip Foreman; the end credits acknowledge a clip from *The Jetsons* supplied by Hanna-Barbera Productions.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57314-ELIMINATORS)\n\nRuntime sources disagree. The AFI Catalog lists a duration of 92 minutes,[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57314-ELIMINATORS) while [JustWatch](https://www.edgepedia.org/justwatch), MUBI, and The Numbers list 96 minutes,[4](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/eliminators-1986) • [8](https://mubi.com/en/us/films/eliminators) • [3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Eliminators-%281986%29) and the Science Fiction Encyclopedia records 96 minutes cut to 91.[2](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/eliminators)\n\n## Release and box office\n\nEmpire Pictures released the film wide on 31 January 1986 in 993 theaters. The opening weekend grossed $1,987,072, ranking eighth for the week, and the domestic total reached $4,601,256, all of it domestic; the film averaged a one-week run per theater.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Eliminators-%281986%29) Rotten Tomatoes later recorded a 36% Tomatometer score from three critics' reviews.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/eliminators)\n\n## Reception and legacy\n\nIn his 31 January 1986 Los Angeles Times review, critic Michael Wilmington placed the film in the wave of \"-ator\" titles that followed [James Cameron](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-cameron)'s *The Terminator*, alongside *The Exterminator*, *The Annihilators*, and *The Mutilator*. He called it \"par for the course\" from Empire Pictures, a small independent company specializing in movies that \"sound like other movies\" and \"are written like comic books,\" but credited Ahlberg's cinematography and Roy Dotrice's swaggering mad scientist, while judging the story a comic he had \"read six times already.\"[6](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-31-ca-2887-story.html) Austin Trunick, writing in *Under the Radar* in 2015, observed that the film \"sometimes seems as if it were intended for children,\" with characters that \"look like they were designed to be a toy line,\" but called it \"good fun.\"[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/eliminators)\n\nThe film found a later afterlife in cult cinema. Director Steven Kostanski has said on numerous occasions that *Eliminators* was the initial and main inspiration for his science fiction parody *Manborg*; he described conceiving that film while watching *Eliminators* with his co-writer Jeremy Gillespie.[9](https://www.netflixmovies.com/eliminators-1986) • [10](https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark%3A/67531/metadc1011874/m2/1/high_res_d/COLLINS-THESIS-2017.pdf) The Science Fiction Encyclopedia calls it an \"enjoyable exploitation frolic\" and notes that screenwriters Bilson and De Meo also wrote producer Band's *Trancers* (1984) and *Zone Troopers* (1985).[2](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/eliminators) As of recent checks, the film has no streaming offer in the United States and is available on disc.[4](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/eliminators-1986)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Eliminators (1986), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/57314-ELIMINATORS)\n2. [Eliminators, The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction](https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/eliminators)\n3. [Eliminators (1986), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Eliminators-%281986%29)\n4. [Eliminators (1986), JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/eliminators-1986)\n5. [Eliminators, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/eliminators)\n6. [Michael Wilmington, \"It's Later, 'Gator, for 'Eliminators',\" Los Angeles Times, 31 January 1986](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-01-31-ca-2887-story.html)\n7. [Eliminators Where to Watch, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/eliminators/20004494/where-to-watch/)\n8. [Eliminators, MUBI](https://mubi.com/en/us/films/eliminators)\n9. [Eliminators (1986), NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/eliminators-1986)\n10. [It's All Coming Back to You: 1980s Retro Film Culture and the Masculinity of Cult, UNT thesis (2017)](https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark%3A/67531/metadc1011874/m2/1/high_res_d/COLLINS-THESIS-2017.pdf)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Science fiction and fantasy films (individual works) › Science fiction and fantasy films of the 1980s › Released 1986 to 1989*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/eliminators", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/eliminators.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Eliminators\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/eliminators. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Eliminators](https://www.edgepedia.org/eliminators)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/eliminators](https://www.edgepedia.org/eliminators). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Eliminators\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/eliminators. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Eliminators, also known simply as Eliminators, is a Peter Manoogian science fiction action film from Charles Band's Empire Pictures about the cyborg Mandroid, released 31 January 1986." }