Wikipedia

The Crow (franchise)

The Crow is an American media franchise based on the limited comic book series of the same name created by James O'Barr. Since then, there have been five released films and a television series, as well as a video game.

The Crow
Created byJames O'Barr
Original workThe Crow (1989)
OwnersFilm distribution: Paramount Pictures (through Miramax Films): (1–4) (1994–2005)
Lionsgate: (5) (2024 reboot)
Comics: Image (1989–1998) IDW Publishing (1998–1999)
Years1989–present
Print publications
Novel(s)
  • The Crow (1995)
  • The Crow: City of Angels (1996)
  • The Crow: Quoth the Crow (1998)
  • The Crow: The Lazarus Heart (1998)
  • The Crow: Clash by Night (1998)
  • The Crow: Temple of Night (1999)
  • The Crow: Wicked Prayer (2000)
  • The Crow: Hellbound (2001)
Comics
  • The Crow (1989)
  • The Crow: Dead Time (1996)
  • The Crow: Flesh & Blood (1996)
  • The Crow: City of Angels (1996)
  • The Crow: Wild Justice (1996)
  • The Crow: Waking Nightmares (1997–1998)
  • The Crow/Razor: Kill the Pain (1998)
  • The Crow (1999)
Films and television
Film(s)
Television seriesThe Crow: Stairway to Heaven (1998–1999)
Games
Video game(s)The Crow: City of Angels (1997)
Audio
Soundtrack(s)

Films

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Film U.S. release date Director Screenwriter(s) Producers
The Crow May 13, 1994 Alex Proyas David J. Schow and John Shirley Edward R. Pressman & Jeff Most
The Crow: City of Angels August 30, 1996 Tim Pope David S. Goyer
The Crow: Salvation January 23, 2000 Bharat Nalluri Chip Johannessen
The Crow: Wicked Prayer July 19, 2005 Lance Mungia Lance Mungia, Jeff Most and Sean Hood
The Crow August 23, 2024 Rupert Sanders Zach Baylin and Will Schneider Edward R. Pressman, Molly Hassell, Victor Hadida, John Jencks & Samuel Hadida

Television

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SeriesSeasonEpisodesOriginally releasedNetwork
The Crow: Stairway to Heaven122September 25, 1998 (1998-09-25)May 22, 1999 (1999-05-22)Syndication

Unmade films

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The Crow: The Bride

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In the 90s, James O'Barr wanted to pursue a female-led installment of The Crow called The Crow: The Bride which would've followed a woman killed on her wedding day who would return seeking revenge.[1] O'Barr had been inspired by a news story he'd read in which Chicago gangsters robbing a church ended up at a wedding where a shoot out occurred with one of the guests who was an off-duty cop and 13 people were killed.[1] When O'Barr pitched the concept to Miramax it was rejected as they didn't believe audiences would pay to see an action film with a female lead.[1]

The Crow: 2037

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Initial development on a third Crow film was announced in August 1997, when Rob Zombie was attached to make a directorial debut with The Crow: 2037.[2] White Zombie covered the KC and the Sunshine Band hit "I'm Your Boogie Man" for the soundtrack of The Crow: City of Angels, and after seeing Rob Zombie's work on the video he produced for the song, Edward Pressman offered Zombie the opportunity to helm the third Crow film.[2] Had the film been made, Zombie planned to shift focus in tone from the revenge angle of the previous two entries, to a more horror based approach. The film would've began in 2010, when a young boy and his mother are murdered on Halloween night by a Satanic priest. A year later, the boy is resurrected as the Crow. Twenty-seven years later, and unaware of his past, he has become a bounty hunter on a collision course with his now all-powerful killer.[2] While producers responded favorably to Zombie's proposal for a third "The Crow" film, producers Pressman and Most ultimately decided it wasn't the best fit for a Crow film and was better served as a standalone work.[3] Zombie himself spoke of his frustration with experience after spending 18 months working on the film often dealing with the indecisiveness of the producers who according to him would change their mind as to what they wanted on any given day which ultimately lead to Zombie leaving the project.[4]

The Crow: Lazarus

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In July 2000, rapper DMX had been in discussions with producers about a fourth Crow film titled The Crow: Lazarus about a rapper who chooses to leave the music scene for the love of a woman and is killed during a drive-by shooting. The rapper is then reincarnated as The Crow in order to take revenge on the gang responsible for his death.[5] Production had been slated to begin in November of that year, but the project ultimately never came to be.[6]

Cast

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Characters Original Films Reboot Television
The Crow The Crow:
City of Angels 		The Crow:
Salvation 		The Crow:
Wicked Prayer 		The Crow The Crow:
Stairway to Heaven
1994 1996 2000 2005 2024 1998 – 1999
Eric Draven Brandon Lee Mentioned   Bill Skarsgård Mark Dacascos
Sarah Mohr Rochelle Davis Mia Kirshner   Katie Stuart
Albrecht Ernie Hudson   Marc Gomes
Top Dollar Michael Wincott   John Pyper-Ferguson
Shelly Webster Sofia Shinas   FKA Twigs Sabine Karsenti
Darla Mohr Anna Levine   Lynda Boyd
Tin-Tin Laurence Mason   Darcy Laurie
Funboy Michael Massee   Ty Olsson
Ashe Corven   Vincent Pérez  
Judah Earl   Richard Brooks  
Curve   Iggy Pop  
Alexander Frederick "Alex" Corvis   Eric Mabius  
Erin Randall   Kirsten Dunst  
Lauren Randall   Jodi Lyn O'Keefe  
Nathan Randall   William Atherton  
Police Captain John L. Book   Fred Ward  
James "Jimmy" Cuervo   Edward Furlong  
Luc "Death" Crash   David Boreanaz  
Lola Byrne   Tara Reid  
Lilly "Ignites the Dawn"   Emmanuelle Chriqui  
El Niño   Dennis Hopper  
Vincent Roeg Danny Huston
Sophia Webster Josette Simon
Marian Laura Birn
Kronos Sami Bouajila
Zadie Isabella Wei
Chance Jordan Bolger

Crew

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Crew for the Crow film and television series
Crew Film
The Crow The Crow:
City of Angels 		The Crow: Salvation The Crow:
Wicked Prayer 		The Crow
1994 1996 2000 2005 2024
Composer Graeme Revell Marco Beltrami Jamie Christopherson Volker Bertelmann
Director of Photography Dariusz Wolski Jean-Yves Escoffier Carolyn Chen Kurt Brabbee Steve Annis[7]
Editor(s) Dov Hoenig
M. Scott Smith
  • Michael N. Knue
  • Anthony Redman
 Howard E. Smith Dean Holland Jason Ballantine
Production company
  • Dimension Films
  • Entertainment Media Investment Corporation
  • Pressman Film
  • Jeff Most Productions
 Dimension Films
  • Pressman Film
  • Jeff Most Productions
  • Fubu Films
  • Davis Films
  • Hassell Free Productions
  • Electric Shadow Co.
  • Pressman Film
  • Ashland Hill Media Finance
Distributor Miramax Films Dimension Films

Reception

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Box office performance

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Film Release date Box office gross Budget Reference
US/Canada Other
territories 		Worldwide
The Crow May 13, 1994 $50,693,129 $43,000,000 $93,693,129 $23 million [8][9]
The Crow: City of Angels August 30, 1996 $17,917,287 $6,931,174 $24,848,461 $13 million [10][11]
The Crow: Salvation January 23, 2000 — — — $10 million[citation needed]
The Crow: Wicked Prayer June 3, 2005 — — — —
The Crow August 23, 2024 $9,275,659 $14,723,447 $23,999,106 $50 million [12][13][14]
Total $77,886,075 $64,654,621 $142,540,696 $96 million

Critical response

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Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic
The Crow (1994) 84% (63 reviews)[15] 71 (14 reviews)[16]
The Crow: City of Angels 11% (36 reviews)[17] —
The Crow: Salvation 18% (11 reviews)[18] —
The Crow: Wicked Prayer 0% (9 reviews)[19] —
The Crow (2024) 22% (131 reviews)[20] 30 (31 reviews)[21]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Miska, Brad (October 31, 2017). "'The Crow' Creator Wanted a Female-led Sequel About a Vengeful Bride". Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved 2024-08-25.
  2. ^ a b c "Third 'Crow' to fly". Variety. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2022.
  3. ^ Beeler, Michael (April 2000). "The Crow: Salvation". Cinefantastique. Fourth Castle Micromedia. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  4. ^ Dumars, Denise (April 2001). "Rob Zombie". Cinefantastique. Fourth Castle Micromedia. Retrieved July 24, 2023.
  5. ^ "Edward Furlong To Star In 'The Crow: Wicked Prayer'". MTV. Archived from the original on September 11, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  6. ^ "DMX Signs On To Resurrect "The Crow" Film Series". MTV. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2022.
  7. ^ "Steve Annis | LUX". www.luxartists.net. Retrieved 2024-04-23.
  8. ^ "The Crow (1994)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 2, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  9. ^ "Worldwide rentals beat domestic take". Variety. February 13, 1995. p. 28.
  10. ^ "The Crow: City of Angels". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on November 12, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  11. ^ "The Crow: City of Angels (1996)". JPBox-Office. Archived from the original on 2019-02-07. Retrieved 2019-02-05.
  12. ^ Kit, Borys (2022-04-01). "Bill Skarsgard to Star in 'The Crow' Reboot, Rupert Sanders Directing (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  13. ^ "The Crow (2024)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  14. ^ "The Crow (2024)". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  15. ^ "The Crow (1994)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on October 12, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  16. ^ "The Crow (1994)". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  17. ^ "The Crow: City of Angels". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  18. ^ "The Crow - Salvation". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on February 3, 2022. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  19. ^ "The Crow: Wicked Prayer". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
  20. ^ "The Crow (2024)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
  21. ^ "The Crow (2024)". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
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