# Epic Movie
**Epic Movie** is a 2007 American parody comedy film written and directed by [Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-friedberg-and-aaron-seltzer), distributed by Twentieth Century Fox, that spoofs the big-budget fantasy and adventure blockbusters of the mid-2000s, including *The Da Vinci Code*, *Pirates of the Caribbean*, *Harry Potter*, and *The Chronicles of Narnia*[1](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/epic-movie/). It opened at number one at the United States box office despite being withheld from critics and receiving overwhelmingly negative reviews[2](https://www.screendaily.com/epic-movie/4030521.article) • [1](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/epic-movie/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | January 26, 2007 (United States); DVD May 22, 2007[3](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/epic-movie) |
| Directors and writers | Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer[1](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/epic-movie/) |
| Studio and rating | Twentieth Century Fox; PG-13 for crude and sexual humor, language, and some comic violence; 86 minutes[3](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/epic-movie) |
| Box office | Opened at No. 1 in the US with an estimated $19 million, on a production budget of less than $25 million[2](https://www.screendaily.com/epic-movie/4030521.article) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jan-29-fi-epic29-story.html) |
| Critical reception | Metascore 17 from 17 critics (82% negative); Rotten Tomatoes 2%[1](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/epic-movie/) • [5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/film-epique) |
| Principal cast | Kal Penn, Adam Campbell, Jayma Mays, Faune Chambers, Jennifer Coolidge, Fred Willard, Crispin Glover, Tony Cox, Héctor Jiménez, Darrell Hammond, Carmen Electra, David Carradine[1](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/epic-movie/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Its plot centers on Edward, Peter, Lucy, and Susan, four grown orphans who all find golden tickets that lead them to a strange chocolate factory, where they meet. From there they pass through a magical wardrobe into the enchanted land of Gnarnia, where a prophecy declares that they must join forces with a majestic lion named Aslo to defeat the tyrannical White Bitch and free the kingdom from her icy grip[1](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/epic-movie/). The character names parody the Pevensie children of *The Chronicles of Narnia*, and the cast also includes parodied figures such as [Harry Potter](https://www.edgepedia.org/harry-potter), Captain Jack Swallows, Willy Wonka, and Magneto[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/film-epique) • [1](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/epic-movie/).
## Production and filmmakers
Friedberg and Seltzer were two of the six writers of the original *Scary Movie* and had written and directed 2006's *Date Movie*, which grossed $49 million in the United States and another $36 million internationally[2](https://www.screendaily.com/epic-movie/4030521.article). Their track record with movie parodies was the release's strongest hook, since the film had no major stars[2](https://www.screendaily.com/epic-movie/4030521.article). The pair went on to make *Meet the Spartans* (2008) and *Disaster Movie* (2008)[6](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/total-recall-history-of-the-spoof-movie-part-one/).
[Jayma Mays](https://www.edgepedia.org/jayma-mays) and [Adam Campbell](https://www.edgepedia.org/adam-campbell-actor), who play the brother and sister Lucy and Peter, married in real life shortly after the film's release[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0799949/).
## Box office
Not screened for preview reviews, *Epic Movie* easily took the top spot on its opening weekend in the United States, earning an estimated $19 million[2](https://www.screendaily.com/epic-movie/4030521.article). The Los Angeles Times reported a production budget of less than $25 million and noted that the film benefited from a wider release and its PG-13 rating[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jan-29-fi-epic29-story.html).
## Reception
Critical response was overwhelmingly negative. Metacritic recorded a score of 17 based on 17 critic reviews, with 14 of them negative, and a user score of 2.4[1](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/epic-movie/). JustWatch lists a Rotten Tomatoes score of 2%[5](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/film-epique). Reviewers objected that the film imitated recent blockbusters without making fun of them: the Los Angeles Times wrote that it "does a decent job imitating films" but "never bothers to make fun of or have fun with them"[8](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jan-29-et-epic29-story.html), and Screen's review called it "a painful regurgitation of memorable moments from recent Hollywood blockbusters" that is "almost entirely devoid of laughs"[2](https://www.screendaily.com/epic-movie/4030521.article). Common Sense Media described the humor as relying on sex and drinking gags and on viewers sharing the writer-directors' exact pop-culture reference points[3](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/epic-movie).
## Place in the spoof genre
The film belongs to the mid-2000s wave of rapid-fire parody movies that followed the *Scary Movie* franchise, alongside *Date Movie*, *Meet the Spartans*, and *Disaster Movie*. Rotten Tomatoes' retrospective on the spoof genre notes that the Friedberg-Seltzer films string together pop-culture references without additional comment or subtext, and that the combined Tomatometer scores of *Date Movie*, *Epic Movie*, and *Meet the Spartans* total 10 percent[6](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/total-recall-history-of-the-spoof-movie-part-one/). Commentators have since treated the film as emblematic of that wave's decline in craft, contrasting it with earlier spoofs such as *Airplane!* and [Mel Brooks](https://www.edgepedia.org/mel-brooks)' *Young Frankenstein*, which were built on affectionate understanding of the genres they mocked[3](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/epic-movie).
## References
1. [Epic Movie Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/epic-movie/)
2. [Epic Movie, Screen (review by Tim Grierson, 2007)](https://www.screendaily.com/epic-movie/4030521.article)
3. [Epic Movie, Parents' Guide & Movie Review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/epic-movie)
4. ['Epic' grabs top box-office spot, Los Angeles Times (January 29, 2007)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jan-29-fi-epic29-story.html)
5. [Epic Movie streaming: where to watch movie online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/film-epique)
6. [Total Recall: History of the Spoof Movie, Part One, Rotten Tomatoes Editorial](https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/total-recall-history-of-the-spoof-movie-part-one/)
7. [Epic Movie (2007), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0799949/)
8. [A witless sampler is 'Epic Movie', Los Angeles Times (January 29, 2007)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2007-jan-29-et-epic29-story.html)
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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 › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2007 to 2008 › Released in 2007*
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