# Revenge of the Pink Panther
**Revenge of the Pink Panther** is a 1978 comedy film directed by [Blake Edwards](https://www.edgepedia.org/blake-edwards), in which [Peter Sellers](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-sellers) made his final appearance as Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau. Written by Edwards with Frank Waldman and [Ron Clark](https://www.edgepedia.org/ron-clark), it follows the bumbling French detective as he fakes his own death to investigate a drug kingpin who ordered his assassination. The film was produced by Jewel Productions for United Artists and released in the United States on July 19, 1978.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56986-REVENGE-OF-THE-PINK-PANTHER?cxt=filmography) • [2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0078163/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | July 19, 1978 (United States), distributed by United Artists[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0078163/) |
| Director and writers | Blake Edwards; screenplay by Frank Waldman, Ron Clark, and Blake Edwards[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56986-REVENGE-OF-THE-PINK-PANTHER?cxt=filmography) |
| Lead cast | Peter Sellers (Clouseau), Herbert Lom (Dreyfus), Burt Kwouk (Cato), Dyan Cannon (Simone Legree), Robert Webber (Philippe Douvier)[3](https://www.mgm.com/movies/revenge-of-the-pink-panther) |
| Series position | The last Pink Panther film in which Sellers starred[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56986-REVENGE-OF-THE-PINK-PANTHER?cxt=filmography) |
| Running time | 99 minutes (AFI lists 100 mins)[4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Revenge-of-the-Pink-Panther) • [1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56986-REVENGE-OF-THE-PINK-PANTHER?cxt=filmography) |
| Domestic gross | $49,579,269 per Box Office Mojo; $37,337,746 per The Numbers[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0078163/) • [4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Revenge-of-the-Pink-Panther) |
| Critical scores | Metascore 65 from 8 critic reviews; 80% Tomatometer from 20 reviews[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/revenge-of-the-pink-panther/) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/revenge_of_the_pink_panther) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
French drug kingpin Philippe Douvier ([Robert Webber](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-webber)) learns he is losing the respect of New York mob bosses and decides to murder Chief Inspector Jacques Clouseau to restore his reputation.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/revenge_of_the_pink_panther) After a case of mistaken identity, a dead body is found in Clouseau's car and the world, including Clouseau's former boss Charles Dreyfus ([Herbert Lom](https://www.edgepedia.org/herbert-lom)), believes the detective is dead.[7](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/revenge-of-the-pink-panther) Clouseau takes advantage of the announcement and goes undercover with his servant Cato ([Burt Kwouk](https://www.edgepedia.org/burt-kwouk)) to find out who tried to kill him.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/revenge-of-the-pink-panther/) He later teams up with Douvier's ex-lover Simone LeGree (Dyan Cannon), and the two head to Hong Kong to intercept a heroin deal worth 50 million francs.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/revenge_of_the_pink_panther) • [3](https://www.mgm.com/movies/revenge-of-the-pink-panther)
The disguise premise gives Sellers a range of comic roles. As the New York Times described it, Clouseau masquerades at various points as a woman, a peg-legged sailor carrying an inflatable rubber parrot, and Toulouse-Lautrec.[8](https://www.tcm.com/articles/89014/revenge-of-the-pink-panther)
## Production
The film carried the working title *Curse of the Pink Panther*, according to a September 1977 Hollywood Reporter brief.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56986-REVENGE-OF-THE-PINK-PANTHER?cxt=filmography) [Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) began on November 2, 1977 in Paris, moved to [Shepperton Studios](https://www.edgepedia.org/shepperton-studios) in England where shooting was completed in late January 1978, resumed in Hong Kong on February 5, 1978 to coincide with a [Chinese New Year](https://www.edgepedia.org/chinese-new-year) celebration, and shifted to Nice, France in March before wrapping the weekend of April 15–16, 1978.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56986-REVENGE-OF-THE-PINK-PANTHER?cxt=filmography)
**Budget figures differ.** A July 1978 Variety article reported the budget as roughly $9 million, while a 1982 Variety column by Army Archerd stated the film cost $12 million.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56986-REVENGE-OF-THE-PINK-PANTHER?cxt=filmography) Ernest Day was the cinematographer, Alan Jones the editor, and [Henry Mancini](https://www.edgepedia.org/henry-mancini) composed the score.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56986-REVENGE-OF-THE-PINK-PANTHER?cxt=filmography)
## Release and box office
[United Artists](https://www.edgepedia.org/united-artists) mounted an unusually large promotional campaign. Three hundred guests, including seventy-five members of the press, were flown to Oahu, Hawaii, for a press junket and preview screening costing the studio $300,000; footage from the event appeared in the television special *That's Panthertainment*, which aired August 16, 1978.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56986-REVENGE-OF-THE-PINK-PANTHER?cxt=filmography) The film opened at New York's Ziegfeld Theatre and Los Angeles's Cinerama Dome, with a giant inflatable Pink Panther erected outside the theater that was later suspended from a skyscraper in Tokyo to promote the Japanese opening.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56986-REVENGE-OF-THE-PINK-PANTHER?cxt=filmography)
The picture was a commercial success. [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo) records a domestic gross of $49,579,269, while The Numbers lists $37,337,746; both sources report no international figure.[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0078163/) • [4](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Revenge-of-the-Pink-Panther) An AFI-cited Hollywood Reporter item recorded $31,405,836 after seven weeks of release.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56986-REVENGE-OF-THE-PINK-PANTHER?cxt=filmography)
## Critical reception
Contemporary reviews were generally favorable but noted the formula's age. The Washington Post's Tom Shales praised the film for giving audiences what they expect from a Pink Panther film: riotous slapstick, spectacular stunts, and Sellers in a variety of accents and disguises.[9](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/revenge-of-the-pink-panther/critic-reviews/) Variety judged that the film "isn't the best of the continuing film series, but Blake Edwards and Peter Sellers on a slow day are still well ahead of most other comedic filmmakers."[9](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/revenge-of-the-pink-panther/critic-reviews/) Judith Martin, also in the Washington Post, found the routine good but sloppier than it had been in 1964.[9](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/revenge-of-the-pink-panther/critic-reviews/) The aggregated Metascore is 65, based on 8 critic reviews with 63% positive and 38% mixed.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/revenge-of-the-pink-panther/) On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an 80% Tomatometer from 20 reviews and a 69% audience score from more than 25,000 ratings.[6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/revenge_of_the_pink_panther)
Later assessments have been less kind. A Time Out review called the film's racial jokes lame and found [Dyan Cannon](https://www.edgepedia.org/dyan-cannon) mostly wasted, and a Rotten Tomatoes-cited critic review describes repeated gags that fall flat and a too-convoluted plot.[10](https://www.timeout.com/movies/revenge-of-the-pink-panther) • [6](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/revenge_of_the_pink_panther) Sellers himself expressed disappointment in a January 1979 Los Angeles Times item, saying the film "was made out of nothing" and that he and Edwards made it under pressure from United Artists.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56986-REVENGE-OF-THE-PINK-PANTHER?cxt=filmography)
## Place in the series
The film is the last Pink Panther entry in which Sellers starred. Sellers died of a heart attack on July 24, 1980, at the age of 54, two years after its release.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56986-REVENGE-OF-THE-PINK-PANTHER?cxt=filmography) • [8](https://www.tcm.com/articles/89014/revenge-of-the-pink-panther) A planned reprise directed by [Sidney Poitier](https://www.edgepedia.org/sidney-poitier) never came to fruition.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56986-REVENGE-OF-THE-PINK-PANTHER?cxt=filmography) Edwards assembled unused Sellers footage for the 1982 film *[Trail of the Pink Panther](https://www.edgepedia.org/trail-of-the-pink-panther)*, and the series continued with *Curse of the Pink Panther* (1983) and *Son of the Pink Panther* (1993).[8](https://www.tcm.com/articles/89014/revenge-of-the-pink-panther) • [11](https://whichott.com/us/movie/revenge-of-the-pink-panther-1978-6081) Mancini's score received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Album of Original Score for a film.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56986-REVENGE-OF-THE-PINK-PANTHER?cxt=filmography) Kino Lorber released a 4K UHD restoration from the original camera negative in 2025.[12](https://kinolorber.com/product/revenge-of-the-pink-panther-4kuhd)
## References
1. [Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/56986-REVENGE-OF-THE-PINK-PANTHER?cxt=filmography)
2. [Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0078163/)
3. [Revenge of the Pink Panther, MGM Studios](https://www.mgm.com/movies/revenge-of-the-pink-panther)
4. [Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Revenge-of-the-Pink-Panther)
5. [Revenge of the Pink Panther, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/revenge-of-the-pink-panther/)
6. [Revenge of the Pink Panther, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/revenge_of_the_pink_panther)
7. [Revenge of the Pink Panther streaming online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/revenge-of-the-pink-panther)
8. [Revenge of the Pink Panther, Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/89014/revenge-of-the-pink-panther)
9. [Revenge of the Pink Panther critic reviews - Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/revenge-of-the-pink-panther/critic-reviews/)
10. [Revenge of the Pink Panther review, Time Out](https://www.timeout.com/movies/revenge-of-the-pink-panther)
11. [Where to watch Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978), WhichOTT](https://whichott.com/us/movie/revenge-of-the-pink-panther-1978-6081)
12. [Revenge of the Pink Panther (4KUHD), Kino Lorber](https://kinolorber.com/product/revenge-of-the-pink-panther-4kuhd)
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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 › Franchise and series entries as standalone works*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: 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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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license