• Total Gross: $816,969,268
• Distributor:Fox
• Release Date: July 3, 1996
• Genre:Sci-fi Action
• Running Time: 2 hrs. 33 min.
• MPAA Rating: PG-13
• Production Budget: $75 million

Cast:
Will Smith - Captain Steven Hiller
Bill Pullman - President Thomas J. Whitmore
Jeff Goldblum - David Levinson
Mary McDonnell - First Lady Marilyn Whitmore

1997 Academy Awards® :: 1 Wins out of 2 Nominations
Nominated & Won: Best Effects
Nominated: Best Sound

Communications systems worldwide are sent into chaos by a strange atmospheric interference. It is soon learned by the military that a number of enormous objects are on a collision course with Earth. At first thought to be meteors, they are later revealed to be gigantic spacecraft, piloted by a mysterious alien species. After attempts to communicate with the aliens go nowhere, David Levinson, an ex-scientist turned cable technician, discovers that the aliens are going to attack major points around the globe in less than a day. The aliens soon obliterate New York, Los Angeles, and Washington. The survivors set out in convoys towards Area 51, a strange government testing ground where it is rumored the military has a captured alien spacecraft of their own. The survivors devise a plan to fight back against the enslaving aliens, and July 4th becomes the day humanity will fight for its freedom. July 4th is their Independence Day. Buildings explode and men die in beautifully choreographed fashions that raise the bar for many modern action films today. "Independence Day" is an excellent display for visual effects. The White House explosion is very memorable and is one of many entertaining and visually great scenes. As for the aliens, they strongly resemble H.R. Giger's "Alien" design with the dreads of the "Predator" creature mixed in.