40 Years After Original Release Time Travel Icon Reaches 1.21 Gigawatts and Finds Love on Streaming

Back to the Future, Robert Zemeckis’ iconic time travel film starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, has become a streaming success. 40 years after its original release, the first film in the Universal Pictures franchise finds itself climbing the streaming charts. At the time of writing, Back to the Future is in the third spot in Hulu‘s top list of most popular films. It appears Hulu subscribers are getting a bit nostalgic, as other classics like 1996’s Independence Day and 1993’s The Sandlot are also in the streamer’s top 10.

In Back to the Future, teenager Marty McFly has an unconventional friendship with Emmett “Doc” Brown. Doc is a scientist that’s about to make a discovery using plutonium: he has built a functioning time machine. The night of the test, terrorists attack them, and Marty is forced to hop on the DeLorean. He lands in 1955, and interrupts the original timeline. Unfortunately, Marty will have to find a way to make his parents fall in love, or else he will cease to exist. That, and he will have to find a way to go back to the present. As summarized in Rotten Tomatoes’ synopsis of the film:

Eighties teenager Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time to 1955, inadvertently disrupting his parents’ first meeting and attracting his mother’s romantic interest. Marty must repair the damage to history by rekindling his parents’ romance and – with the help of his eccentric inventor friend Doc Brown – return to 1985.

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Back to the Future was released on July 3, 1985, to critical acclaim. After successful test screenings, Universal selected it as one of their picks for the summer schedule, and it ended up grossing over $388 million from a $19 million production budget. Produced by Amblin Entertainment, Steven Spielberg’s production endeavor alongside Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy, Back to the Future was one of the ’80s films that cemented Spielberg’s status as a visionary of blockbuster cinema.

At the Academy Awards, Back to the Future took home an award in the Best Sound Effects Editing category. Other nominations included Best Original Screenplay, Best Sound, and Best Original Song. Curiously, even though it’s full of outstanding special effects that easily hold up today, it wasn’t part of the Best Visual Effects category.

Today, Back to the Future is considered a seminal film in the sci-fi genre that often steps into the adventure and comedy territories. A genre mashup that cleverly tells its convoluted story in a tone that’s easy to follow. The performances by Michael J. Fox as Marty and Christopher Lloyd as Doc are exceptional, and they’re likely part of the reason for the film’s long-lasting appeal. Today, Back to the Future sits at 93% on the critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, while the audience score has a rating of 95%.

Why ‘Back to the Future’ Remains Off-Limits for Hollywood’s Remake Machine

Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown and Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly in 'Back to the Future' — Universal Pictures

Back to the Future remains one of the few ultra-popular film franchises that hasn’t gone through the grinding machine that is Hollywood and its constant renovation of classic movies through unnecessary remakes. Reasons vary, and perhaps the most important one has to do with the original creators’ protective approach regarding a possible remake.

Naturally, their view is the same when addressing a possible sequel or spin-off. Original writer Bob Gale often gets candid when asked about a possible follow-up or re-imagining. He, Robert Zemeckis, and Steven Spielberg have some say in the matter, and they all agree on one thing about a Back to the Future remake. It won’t happen. Ever.

Source: Flix Patrol