# Trojan War (film)
*Trojan War* is a 1997 American teen romantic comedy directed by George Huang, in which high schooler Brad Kimble spends a single night searching Los Angeles for a condom while failing to notice that his best friend loves him. Despite a $15 million budget and Warner Bros. distribution, it received one of the smallest theatrical releases on record and grossed $309, all domestic.[1](https://movies.fandom.com/wiki/Trojan_War_%281997%29) • [2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0120376/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | September 26, 1997 (limited), distributed by Warner Bros.; produced by Daybreak Pictures[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Trojan-War) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/trojan_war) |
| Director and writers | George Huang; screenplay by Andy Burg and Scott Myers[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/trojan_war) |
| Lead cast | Will Friedle (Brad Kimble), Jennifer Love Hewitt (Leah Jones), Marley Shelton (Brooke Kingsley)[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Trojan-War) |
| Budget and gross | $15,000,000 budget; $309 domestic gross, of which $217 came in the opening weekend[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0120376/) |
| Theatrical run | One or two theaters for a single week (sources differ); pulled after that week[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120376) • [6](https://www.netflixmovies.com/trojan-war-1997) |
| Rating and runtime | PG-13; 84 minutes (some databases list 85)[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0120376/) • [7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120376) |
| Later release | UK VHS on December 16, 1997; streaming release September 1, 2009[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120376/releaseinfo/) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/trojan_war) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Brad Kimble, a geeky high school virgin, pines for popular cheerleader Brooke Kingsley, who is dating the jock Kyle ([Eric Balfour](https://www.edgepedia.org/eric-balfour)). When Brooke shows interest in Brad after a study session, he realizes he has no condom and sets out into the night to find one, meeting a series of obstacles along the way. His search fails, but in the process he discovers that the person he really wants is his closest friend, Leah Jones.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/trojan_war) Leah, who is secretly in love with Brad, spends the film trying to make him see it.[9](https://www.blu-ray.com/digital/Trojan-War-Digital/12175/)
The title is a pun: the plot is a Homeric-style quest for a Trojan-brand prophylactic.[10](https://thegoodsreviews.com/trojan-war-1997/)
## Production and cast
George Huang, who had previously directed *Swimming With Sharks*, directed the film from a script by Andy Burg (*Alaska*) and Scott Myers (*K9*).[11](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/the-1997-battle-of-the-competing-condom-movies/) Dean Semler was the cinematographer, George S. Clinton composed the score, and Ed Marx edited.[12](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0120376/credits/) School scenes were filmed at Monrovia High School in [Monrovia, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/monrovia-california).[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120376)
The supporting cast mixes teen-comedy regulars with oddball cameos: [Danny Masterson](https://www.edgepedia.org/danny-masterson) as Seth, Jason Marsden as Josh, Wendie Malick as Brad's mother Beverly, Lee Majors as Officer Austin (a nod to his *Six Million Dollar Man* role), [Anthony Michael Hall](https://www.edgepedia.org/anthony-michael-hall) as a bus driver, [Kathy Griffin](https://www.edgepedia.org/kathy-griffin) as a gas station cashier who gets robbed, David Patrick Kelly as a homeless man, and Danny Trejo as Scarface at a Latin dance club.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Trojan-War) • [10](https://thegoodsreviews.com/trojan-war-1997/)
## Release and box office
Warner Bros. released the film on September 26, 1997 in a limited run.[3](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Trojan-War) The scale of that run is reported differently: IMDb's trivia states it played in just one theater and was pulled after one week,[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120376) while other accounts say it played in two theaters for a single week.[6](https://www.netflixmovies.com/trojan-war-1997) • [10](https://thegoodsreviews.com/trojan-war-1997/) According to the Film Stories account, Warner Bros. had judged the film's commercial chances low and gave it the tiny release only to fulfill a contractual obligation from its pickup, sending it to video as quickly as possible; the film itself had received fairly good reviews.[11](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/the-1997-battle-of-the-competing-condom-movies/)
The financial result was extreme. Against a $15 million production budget, the film earned $217 in its opening weekend and $309 in total, all domestic.[2](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0120376/) As of 2007 it was recorded as the fifth-lowest-grossing film since modern record-keeping began in the 1980s.[6](https://www.netflixmovies.com/trojan-war-1997) At a screening in [Boulder, Colorado](https://www.edgepedia.org/boulder-colorado), the only two people in the audience were star [Will Friedle](https://www.edgepedia.org/will-friedle) and director George Huang, who had flown out for it.[6](https://www.netflixmovies.com/trojan-war-1997)
The film reached home video quickly: it premiered on video in Spain in 1997, opened theatrically in Brazil on October 1, 1997, and was released on UK VHS on December 16, 1997.[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120376/releaseinfo/) A streaming release followed on September 1, 2009.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/trojan_war) Some current streaming versions, including Tubi and Roku Channel, omit the post-credit scene and run 83 minutes.[7](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120376)
## Reception
Rotten Tomatoes lists a Tomatometer score of 40 percent with 250+ audience ratings.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/trojan_war) Retrospective commentary has been warmer than the release: a 2023 review called it a well-cast, high-chemistry example of the best-friends-in-love rom-com trope, praising Friedle's physical comedy and the steady run of set pieces, while noting that its racial caricatures read as a film fifteen years older.[10](https://thegoodsreviews.com/trojan-war-1997/) Audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes describe it as a nostalgia piece that holds up unevenly.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/trojan_war)
## References
1. [Trojan War (1997), Moviepedia](https://movies.fandom.com/wiki/Trojan_War_%281997%29)
2. [Trojan War (1997), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0120376/)
3. [Trojan War (1997), The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Trojan-War)
4. [Trojan War, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/trojan_war)
5. [Trojan War (1997), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120376)
6. [Watch Trojan War on Netflix Today!, NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/trojan-war-1997)
7. [Trojan War (1997), IMDb release info](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120376/releaseinfo/)
8. [Trojan War Digital, Blu-ray.com](https://www.blu-ray.com/digital/Trojan-War-Digital/12175/)
9. [Trojan War (1997), The Goods: Film Reviews](https://thegoodsreviews.com/trojan-war-1997/)
10. [The 1997 battle of the competing condom movies, Film Stories](https://filmstories.co.uk/features/the-1997-battle-of-the-competing-condom-movies/)
11. [Trojan War (1997) credits, Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0120376/credits/)
---
*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 1995 to 1999 › Teen comedies*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license