American Made ( film ) - wikipedia American Made ( film ) American Made Theatrical release poster Directed by Doug Liman Produced by Brian Grazer Brian Oliver Tyler Thompson Doug Davison Kim Roth Written by Gary Spinelli Starring Tom Cruise Music by Christophe Beck Cinematography César Charlone Edited by Saar Klein Andrew Mondshein Dylan Tichenor Production company Cross Creek Pictures Imagine Entertainment Quadrant Pictures Vendian Entertainment Kylin Pictures Distributed by Universal Pictures Release date August 23, 2017 ( 2017 - 08 - 23 ) ( Europe ) September 29, 2017 ( 2017 - 09 - 29 ) ( United States ) Running time 115 minutes Country United States Language English Budget $50 million Box office $132 million American Made is a 2017 American biographical crime film directed by Doug Liman, written by Gary Spinelli and starring Tom Cruise, Domhnall Gleeson, Sarah Wright, Alejandro Edda, Mauricio Mejía, Caleb Landry Jones and Jesse Plemons. The plot focuses on Barry Seal, a former TWA pilot who flew missions for the CIA and became a drug smuggler for the Medellín Cartel in the 1980s. In order to avoid jail time, Seal became an informant for the DEA. The film was first released in Europe on August 23, 2017, and then in the United States on September 29, 2017. It is the first film directed by Liman to be released by Universal Pictures since The Bourne Identity in 2002, and was played in 2D and IMAX in select theaters. It has grossed $132 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Cruise 's performance. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 3.1 Filming 3.2 Plane crash 4 Release 4.1 Box office 4.2 Critical response 5 Historical accuracy 6 References 7 External links Plot In the late 1970s, Barry Seal, a pilot for commercial airline TWA, is contacted by CIA case officer Monty Schafer. He asks Seal to fly clandestine reconnaissance missions for the CIA over Central America using a small plane with cameras installed. Later in the 1970s, Schafer asks Seal to start acting as a courier between the CIA and General Noriega in Panama. During a mission, the Medellín Cartel picks Seal up and asks him to fly cocaine on his return flights to the United States. Seal accepts and starts flying the cartel 's cocaine to Louisiana. The CIA turns a blind eye to the drug smuggling, but the DEA tracks Seal down. To avoid the authorities, Schafer moves Seal and his family to a remote town in Arkansas called Mena. Later, Schafer asks Seal to run guns to the Nicaraguan Contras based in Honduras, Central America. Seal soon realizes that the Contras are not serious about the war and starts trading the guns to the cartel. The CIA set up a Contra training base in Mena and Seal flies the Contras in, but many of them escape as soon as they arrive. Seal 's freeloading brother - in - law JB moves in, needing a job. Eventually, he starts stealing money from the Seals and is caught by Sheriff Downing with a briefcase full of laundered cash and is arrested. Seal gives him money and a plane ticket to Bora Bora so he can leave. JB demands weekly cash and insults Lucy. Barry tries to chase him but JB 's car explodes ; it is implied Jorge Ochoa had JB 's car rigged with explosives, killing him so that he would not snitch. Eventually, the CIA shuts the program down and abandons Seal, who is arrested by the FBI, DEA and other law enforcement agencies. Seal escapes prosecution by making a deal with the White House, which wants evidence the Sandinistas are drug traffickers. They ask Seal to get photos that tie the Medellín Cartel to the Nicaraguan Sandinistas. Seal manages to get the pictures, but the White House releases them as propaganda against the Sandinistas. Seal is prominently shown in the pictures, which leads to his arrest, and to the cartel plotting revenge. Seal is convicted but given a light sentence, 1,000 hours community service for the Salvation Army. Eventually, after moving from motel to motel each night, assassins sent by Pablo Escobar and the cartel locate Seal and kill him ; the CIA then seizes all the evidence to avoid being implicated in drug smuggling. The CIA subsequently begins the Iran -- Contra affair. Cast Tom Cruise as Barry Seal Sarah Wright as Lucy Seal Domhnall Gleeson as Monty Schafer Alejandro Edda as Jorge Ochoa Mauicio Mejia as Pablo Escobar Jayma Mays as Dana Sibota Jesse Plemons as Sheriff Downing Lola Kirke as Judy Downing Frank Licari as ATF Special Agent Franks Jed Rees as Louis Finkle Caleb Landry Jones as JB Connor Trinneer as George W. Bush Robert P. Farrior as Oliver North Production Filming Principal photography on the film began on May 27, 2015 in Georgia. Filming locations include counties Cherokee, Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Morgan and Pickens. On August 20, 2015, Tom Cruise arrived in Medellin, Colombia, and on August 31 arrived in Santa Marta to scout for filming locations for the film. Plane crash A plane crash on the set of the film in Colombia on September 11, 2015 killed two people and caused serious injuries to another member of the crew. The plane ( a twin - engine Aerostar ), which was carrying crew members ( three American pilots ), was returning to Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport in Medellín when it ran into bad weather and the crash occurred. The dead were later identified as Carlos Berl and Alan Purwin, who was the founder and president of Helinet Aviation, a company which provides aerial surveillance technology to government agencies and law enforcement, and a film pilot who had worked in top films. American pilot Jimmy Lee Garland was seriously injured and rushed to a local hospital. Release In May 2015, Universal set the film for a January 6, 2017 release. On August 8, 2016, the film 's release was pushed to September 29, 2017, and also received its final title, American Made, having been known prior as Mena. It was released in Europe on August 23, 2017, and on September 29, 2017 in the US. Box office As of October 29, 2017, American Made has grossed $48.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $80.1 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $128.6 million, against a production budget of $50 million. In North America, American Made was released alongside Flatliners and ' Til Death Do Us Part, as well as the wide expansion of Battle of the Sexes, and was projected to gross $12 -- 15 million from 3,023 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $960,000 from Thursday night previews, the lowest total by a Cruise - led film in recent years, and $6.1 million on its first day. Initially, studio estimates had the film opening to $17 million, finishing third at the box office behind holdovers It ( $17.3 million ) and Kingsman : The Golden Circle ( $17 million ). However the following day, actual results had the film debuting to $16.8 million, with Kingsman beating out It by a gross of $16.93 million to $16.90 million. 91 % of its opening weekend audience was over the age of 25. In its second weekend the film made $8.1 million ( a drop of 51 % ), finishing 6th. The film was released in 21 countries on August 25, 2017 and grossed a total of $6.1 million over the weekend. It finished number one in 11 of the territories, including the UK where it replaced five - time champ Dunkirk. Critical response On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88 % based on 216 reviews, and an average rating of 6.9 / 10. The site 's critical consensus reads, `` American Made 's fast - and - loose attitude with its real - life story mirrors the cavalier -- and delightfully watchable -- energy Tom Cruise gives off in the leading role. '' On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating to reviews, the film has a weighted average score 65 out of 100, based 50 critics, indicating `` generally favorable reviews ''. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of `` B + '' on an A+ to F scale. Historical accuracy Despite the film 's suggestion that he was recruited by the CIA while working for TWA, Seal denied in court that he had ever worked for the CIA. Seal was fired from TWA in 1974 for falsely claiming medical leave when he was involved in a smuggling scheme. Monty Schafer was a fictional character and not based on a real - life CIA agent. Seal 's connections with cartel bosses were also not direct when he was running his drug operations and he did n't meet Pablo Escobar and the Ochoa brothers in person until 1984, when he was working as an informant for the DEA on an undercover operation following his arrest. His third wife Deborah, whom Lucy was loosely based on, stated that Seal started his drug smuggling business in 1975, not 1980 like the film suggests, and that it originally was centered around marijuana before it involved cocaine. Seal 's DEA record also noted that he expanded to smuggling cocaine in 1978 and claimed that he was smuggling marijuana as early as 1976. Seal 's ties to the Medellín Cartel also did not begin after being kidnapped while refueling his plane in Colombia, but when he met a smuggler who flew for cartel operative Jorge Ochoa during a flight home from Honduras, where he served nine months in a local jail after being caught smuggling drugs in 1979. Deborah is also a brunette and not a blonde like Lucy. When asked if the film was a biopic, director Doug Liman said `` You know, we 're not making a biopic. Tom Cruise does n't look like Barry Seal. His character is inspired by the stories we learned about Barry. '' It has been noted the real Seal was not of Tom Cruise 's 5 - foot - 7 frame and was an obese man who reportedly weighed 300 pounds. Liman has also acknowledged that the film 's zero - gravity love scene was his idea and that he got the inspiration for it after he and Cruise collided in the cockpit while filming a flight scene. Seal was also unapologetic about his weapons and drug smuggling operations, even stating once in a TV interview `` Whether you call it soldier of fortune or what, it 's a way of life for me. I enjoy it and I 'm going to keep doing it. '' He also never crash landed into a suburban neighborhood. Liman described the film as `` a fun lie based on a true story. '' References Jump up ^ `` AMERICAN MADE ''. 20th Century Fox. British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved August 26, 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` American Made ( 2017 ) ''. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 5, 2017. Jump up ^ Sedighzadeh, Kazem. `` Tom Cruise Adds ' Mena ' to Busy Filming Schedule ! ''. Masterherald.com. Retrieved April 1, 2015. ^ Jump up to : Loughrey, Clarisse ( August 24, 2017 ). `` Barry Seal : The real - life story behind Tom Cruise 's character in American Made ; Doug Liman 's new film follows the wild true story of a pilot, drug smuggler, and eventual informant ''. The Independent. Retrieved August 27, 2017. Jump up ^ `` American Made ''. www.imax.com. Retrieved 2017 - 09 - 12. Jump up ^ Giles, Jeff ( September 28, 2017 ). `` American Made is Certified Fresh ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 28, 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` Universal Starts Production on Doug Liman 's Mena, Starring Tom Cruise ''. comingsoon.net. May 29, 2015. Retrieved May 29, 2015. Jump up ^ `` Tom Cruise llega a Santa Marta para grabar escenas de su película ''. RCN Radio. Retrieved April 2, 2016. Jump up ^ Casa Editorial El Tiempo. `` Tom Cruise en Colombia : nueva película - Barranquilla - ELTIEMPO.COM ''. El Tiempo. Retrieved April 2, 2016. Jump up ^ A. Lincoln, Ross ( September 11, 2015 ). `` Fatal Plane Crash Claims 2 Lives On Set Of Tom Cruise Film ' Mena ' ''. deadline.com. Retrieved September 12, 2015. Jump up ^ Brumfield, Ben ; Williams, Alima ( September 12, 2015 ). `` Tom Cruise movie crew members in plane crash that kills 2 in Colombia ''. CNN. Retrieved September 12, 2015. Jump up ^ Cowden, Catarina. `` Deadly Plane Crash Occurs On Set Of Tom Cruise Film Mena ''. cinemablend.com. Retrieved September 12, 2015. Jump up ^ Fleming Jr, Mike ( May 27, 2015 ). `` Universal Sets Tom Cruise - Doug Liman ' Mena ' Flight Plan For January 2017 ''. deadline.com. Retrieved May 29, 2015. Jump up ^ Busch, Anita ( April 21, 2016 ). `` ' American Made ' : Universal Moves Tom Cruise - Doug Liman Film Up One Week -- Update ''. Deadline.com. Jump up ^ `` Deauville Film Festival Unveils Lineup, Doug Liman 's ' American Made ' Set to Open Festival ''. Variety. August 22, 2017. Retrieved September 3, 2017. Jump up ^ Ryan Faughnder ( September 27, 2017 ). `` ' It ' drives record September box office with Tom Cruise 's ' American Made ' ready to battle ' Kingsman ' ''. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 27, 2017. ^ Jump up to : `` ' Kingsman ' Edges Out ' It ' In Fierce Three - Way B.O. Tie ; Early AM Figures Have ' American Made ' In 3rd ''. Deadline.com. October 2, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2017. Jump up ^ `` ' Blade Runner 2049 ' Dulls - 11 % On Saturday ; Weekend Opening Now At $31 M+ : Sunday Postmortem ''. Deadline.com. Retrieved October 8, 2017. Jump up ^ `` ' Valerian ' Tops China ; ' Wonder Woman ' Hits $400 M Overseas -- International Box Office ''. Deadline.com. August 27, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017. Jump up ^ `` American Made ( 2017 ) ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 19, 2017. Jump up ^ `` American Made reviews ''. Metacritic. Retrieved October 9, 2017. ^ Jump up to : http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/american-made/ ^ Jump up to : http://www.nola.com/movies/index.ssf/2017/09/american_made_movie_review_fac.html External links Official website American Made on IMDb Films directed by Doug Liman Getting In ( 1994 ) Swingers ( 1996 ) Go ( 1999 ) The Bourne Identity ( 2002 ) Mr. & Mrs. Smith ( 2005 ) Jumper ( 2008 ) Fair Game ( 2010 ) Edge of Tomorrow ( 2014 ) The Wall ( 2017 ) American Made ( 2017 ) Chaos Walking ( 2019 ) Brian Grazer Films produced Night Shift Splash Real Genius Spies Like Us Armed and Dangerous Like Father Like Son Parenthood Kindergarten Cop Closet Land My Girl Far and Away Housesitter Boomerang For Love or Money My Girl 2 Greedy The Paper The Cowboy Way Apollo 13 Sgt. Bilko Fear The Nutty Professor The Chamber Ransom Liar Liar Inventing the Abbotts Mercury Rising Psycho Edtv Life Bowfinger Beyond the Mat Nutty Professor II : The Klumps How the Grinch Stole Christmas A Beautiful Mind Undercover Brother Blue Crush 8 Mile Intolerable Cruelty The Cat in the Hat The Missing Friday Night Lights Inside Deep Throat Cinderella Man Flightplan Fun with Dick and Jane Inside Man The Da Vinci Code American Gangster Changeling Frost / Nixon Angels & Demons Robin Hood The Dilemma Restless Cowboys & Aliens J. Edgar Tower Heist Katy Perry : Part of Me Rush In the Heart of the Sea Inferno Lowriders American Made TV series created Shadow Chasers Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_Made_(film)&oldid=809131044 '' Categories : 2017 films English - language films 2010s comedy films 2010s thriller films American aviation films American black comedy films American crime films American comedy films American films Cross Creek Pictures films Films about the illegal drug trade Films directed by Doug Liman Films produced by Brian Grazer Films produced by Ron Howard Films produced by Brian Oliver Films set in Colombia Films shot in Atlanta Imagine Entertainment films Universal Pictures films Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from July 2017 Articles containing potentially dated statements from October 2017 All articles containing potentially dated statements Articles with specifically marked weasel - worded phrases from October 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Čeština Deutsch Español فارسی Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano Basa Jawa 日本 語 Norsk Polski Русский Українська 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 7 November 2017, at 08 : 46. 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Question: when did the movie american made come out
Answer: 2017