# Taxi (2004 film)
**Taxi** is a 2004 American action comedy directed by [Tim Story](https://www.edgepedia.org/tim-story), a remake of the 1998 French film *Taxi* by Gérard Pirès, in which a New York police detective who cannot drive teams with a speed-obsessed taxi driver to catch a gang of bank robbers.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/taxi) • [2](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D53233.html) It was produced by [Luc Besson](https://www.edgepedia.org/luc-besson) and distributed by 20th Century Fox.[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/63253-TAXI)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / producer | Tim Story (director); Luc Besson (producer and writer of the original film)[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/63253-TAXI) |
| Writers | Robert Ben Garant, Thomas Lennon, and Jim Kouf[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/taxi) |
| Stars | Queen Latifah as Isabelle "Belle" Williams; Jimmy Fallon as Andrew "Andy" Washburn; Gisele Bündchen as Vanessa[4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0316732/credits/) |
| Release | October 6, 2004 (United States); 97 minutes; PG-13[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/63253-TAXI) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0316732/) |
| Budget | $25,000,000 (estimated)[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0316732/) |
| Box office | Domestic $36,611,066; opening weekend $12,029,832 in 3,001 theaters[6](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0316732/) |
| Reception | 9% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (105 reviews); 4.6/10 on IMDb; Metascore 27[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/taxi) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0316732/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
After a series of traffic accidents, police detective Andy Washburn is demoted and has his driver's license revoked by his lieutenant. While on duty he learns of a bank robbery and hails a taxi driven by Belle, a new cabbie. After a pursuit across New York City, they lose track of the robbers, and Belle's cab gets impounded; Andy pledges to have the vehicle returned to her in exchange for her help in apprehending the thieves.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/taxi) The robbers are a quartet of female Brazilian bank robbers, and Belle is described as New York's fastest cabbie, driving a souped-up, customized taxi while aspiring to become a race car driver.[6](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0316732/) • [7](https://auth-web.moviesanywhere.com/movie/taxi) • [2](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D53233.html)
The supporting cast includes [Jennifer Esposito](https://www.edgepedia.org/jennifer-esposito) as Lt. Marta Robbins, Ann-Margret as Washburn's mother, and [Henry Simmons](https://www.edgepedia.org/henry-simmons) as Jesse.[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/63253-TAXI)
## Production
The film is a France–United States co-production credited to Twentieth Century Fox, with EuropaCorp and Robert Simonds Productions among the production companies.[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/63253-TAXI) • [5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0316732/) Luc Besson wrote the original 1998 French film and produced this remake; the screenplay credits go to [Robert Ben Garant](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-ben-garant), Thomas Lennon, and Jim Kouf, with Christophe Beck and Tim Boland composing the music and Vance Burberry serving as cinematographer.[3](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/63253-TAXI) • [4](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0316732/credits/) Filming locations included Phoenix International Raceway in Arizona.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0316732/)
The remake changes the original's setup: the French film's male taxi driver Daniel, played by [Samy Naceri](https://www.edgepedia.org/samy-naceri), becomes a woman, Belle, played by [Queen Latifah](https://www.edgepedia.org/queen-latifah), while [Jimmy Fallon](https://www.edgepedia.org/jimmy-fallon) takes the role of the inept policeman originated by Frédéric Diefenthal.[2](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D53233.html) The original was set in Marseille with German bank robbers fleeing in Mercedes cars; the remake moves the story to New York.[8](https://ifi.ie/film/taxi/)
## Box office
**Domestic performance.** Taxi opened on October 6, 2004 in 609 theaters, expanding to 3,001 theaters on October 8, and earned $12,029,832 in its opening weekend, 32.9% of its eventual domestic total.[6](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0316732/) • [9](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Taxi-%282004%29) Against an estimated $25,000,000 budget, it grossed $36,611,066 domestically.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0316732/) • [6](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0316732/)
**International performance.** The film rolled out to 43 markets between October 6, 2004 and August 31, 2005. [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo) reports $34,167,263 international and $70,778,329 worldwide for the original release group, with a further $208,420 from an undated Turkish release bringing the all-releases worldwide total to $70,986,749.[6](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0316732/) The Numbers reports a lower worldwide figure of $68,109,966, with $31,500,000 international; the two trackers disagree on the international total.[9](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Taxi-%282004%29) Notable markets included Spain ($6,760,422), the United Kingdom ($2,330,567), and Japan ($3,117,303).[6](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0316732/) The film was released in France itself only on August 31, 2005, grossing $35,418 there.[10](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/releasegroup/gr1623347717/) A home video release followed on February 15, 2005.[9](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Taxi-%282004%29)
## Reception
Critical response was strongly negative. The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus calls it a "silly and unfunny remake of a French movie of the same name", and only 9 of 105 reviews counted on the Tomatometer were positive, for a 9% score; the audience Popcornmeter stood at 43% from more than 100,000 ratings.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/taxi) On IMDb the film holds a 4.6/10 rating from about 49,000 users and a Metascore of 27.[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0316732/)
Reviewers singled out the chase scenes and the leads' chemistry as weak points. Roger Ebert, longtime film critic of the *Chicago Sun-Times*, wrote that the "endless, tedious chase scenes, in which cars do things that cars cannot do" drained his interest, and questioned why Queen Latifah had made a film "as obviously without ambition, imagination or purpose".[11](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/taxi-2004) Hank Sartin of the *Chicago Reader* wrote that "Latifah coasts on her charm, and Fallon seems incapable of playing an actual character".[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/taxi) Nell Minow of Common Sense Media rated it 2/5, calling the script "so sit-com-ish you almost expect a laugh track", while noting that both leads have strong screen presences and comic timing.[12](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/taxi) A minority of critics were milder: Rob Gonsalves called it "a laid-back, inoffensive time-waster".[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/taxi)
## Relation to the French original
The 1998 *Taxi*, written by Besson and directed by Gérard Pirès, was a major French hit that drew a domestic audience of over 6 million and launched one of the most successful franchises in French film history, with sequels *Taxi 2* (2000), *Taxi 3* (2003), *Taxi 4* (2007), and *Taxi 5* (2018).[8](https://ifi.ie/film/taxi/) • [13](https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send%3Faccession%3Dosu1499821478202158%26disposition%3Dinline) • [14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HcekodWIaY) The 2004 remake is the series' one English-language film, and it also provided the premise for the 2014 American television series *Taxi Brooklyn*.[14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HcekodWIaY) A scholarly account of the franchise describes the series as a mixing of transnational genres, including the Hollywood buddy movie, French comedy, and action and crime genres.[13](https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send%3Faccession%3Dosu1499821478202158%26disposition%3Dinline)
## References
1. [Taxi, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/taxi)
2. [New York Taxi, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D53233.html)
3. [Taxi (2004), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Film/63253-TAXI)
4. [Taxi (2004) credits, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0316732/credits/)
5. [Taxi (2004), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0316732/)
6. [Taxi (2004), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0316732/)
7. [Taxi, Movies Anywhere](https://auth-web.moviesanywhere.com/movie/taxi)
8. [Taxi, Irish Film Institute](https://ifi.ie/film/taxi/)
9. [Taxi (2004), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Taxi-%282004%29)
10. [Taxi (Original Release), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/releasegroup/gr1623347717/)
11. [Taxi review, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/taxi-2004)
12. [Taxi parents' guide, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/taxi)
13. [Dissertation on French action cinema franchises, OhioLINK](https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send%3Faccession%3Dosu1499821478202158%26disposition%3Dinline)
14. [Taxi (1998) movie review, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HcekodWIaY)
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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 › Action and adventure films (individual works) › Action comedies › Action comedies, 2000 to 2019*
*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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