ⓘ Details

Movie TitleCobra

Release DateMay 23, 1986 in the United States

TaglineCrime is the disease. Meet the cure.

Runtime89 minutes / 1 hour 29 minutes

DirectorGeorge P. Cosmatos

Screenplay Written BySylvester Stallone

Based OnLoosely based on Paula Gosling’s novel A Running Duck, later published as Fair Game

Is It a Remake?No. Cobra is not a remake, though it is loosely connected to source material later adapted again as Fair Game in 1995.

BudgetApproximately $25 million

Box OfficeApprox. $49.04 million domestic / Approx. $49.04 million worldwide per Box Office Mojo, with some historical summaries reporting higher worldwide totals

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👥 Main Cast

Sylvester StalloneLieutenant Marion “Cobra” Cobretti

Brigitte NielsenIngrid Knudsen

Reni SantoniSergeant Tony Gonzales

Andrew RobinsonDetective Monte

Brian ThompsonThe Night Slasher

Lee GarlingtonNancy Stalk

Art LaFleurCaptain Sears

Marco RodríguezSupermarket Killer

Val AveryChief Halliwell

David RascheDan

John HerzfeldCho

Nina AxelrodWaitress

John HaukLow Rider

Nick AngottiProdski

Bert WilliamsNight Watchman

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🏆 Awards

⭐ Razzie Award Nominee — Worst Actor, Sylvester Stallone

⭐ Razzie Award Nominee — Worst Supporting Actor, Brian Thompson

⭐ No Academy Award nominations were verified for the film.

⭐ No Golden Globe nominations were verified for the film.

⭐ No BAFTA nominations were verified for the film.

⭐ Its real legacy is cult-action status, Stallone’s “crime is the disease” persona, and one of the purest examples of stripped-down 1980s action excess.

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📖 Short Plot Summary

Los Angeles police lieutenant Marion “Cobra” Cobretti is the cop called in when situations get too violent, too messy, or too ridiculous for normal procedure. After model Ingrid Knudsen witnesses a murder committed by the Night Slasher and his “New World” cult, Cobretti is assigned to protect her. As the killers close in, Cobra moves from supermarket standoffs to hospital attacks, highway chases, and a final factory showdown where his idea of law enforcement is less paperwork and more bullets, fire, and one-liners.

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❝ Key Quotes

“You’re a disease, and I’m the cure.” — Marion Cobretti

“This is where the law stops and I start.” — Marion Cobretti

“You’re the disease, and I’m the cure.” — Marion Cobretti

“I don’t deal with psychos. I put ’em away.” — Marion Cobretti

“The court is civilized, isn’t it, pig?” — Night Slasher

“Come on, you psycho.” — Marion Cobretti

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💡 Trivia

Director

Cobra was directed by George P. Cosmatos.
Cosmatos had directed Rambo: First Blood Part II the year before, also starring Sylvester Stallone.
The movie has the feel of a darker, meaner action-thriller filtered through the simplest possible 1980s cop-movie logic.
Its style is built around neon streets, leather jackets, mirrored sunglasses, industrial smoke, cult imagery, and Stallone delivering every line like a threat.

Cast / Casting

Sylvester Stallone stars as Marion Cobretti and also wrote the screenplay.
Brigitte Nielsen plays Ingrid Knudsen, the witness Cobra is assigned to protect.
Reni Santoni plays Tony Gonzales, Cobretti’s partner.
Brian Thompson plays the Night Slasher, the cult leader and main physical threat.
Andrew Robinson plays Detective Monte, the more by-the-book cop who clashes with Cobra’s methods.

Soundtrack / Score

Sylvester Levay composed the film’s score.
The soundtrack also features 1980s rock and pop tracks, including “Voice of America’s Sons” by John Cafferty and the Beaver Brown Band.
Robert Tepper’s “Angel of the City” is strongly associated with the film’s music-video-like style.
The music reinforces the movie’s mix of street-crime grit, glossy action, and full Cannon-era attitude.

Location

The story is set in Los Angeles, California.
Filming took place in California, including Los Angeles-area locations.
Cobra’s custom 1950 Mercury became one of the movie’s signature visual elements.
The film uses supermarkets, hospitals, streets, warehouses, and factories as grimy action spaces for Cobra’s war against the New World cult.

Behind-The-Scenes

The film was produced by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus for Cannon.
Stallone’s script was influenced by ideas from his rejected action-heavy version of Beverly Hills Cop.
The movie was heavily cut down from a much longer rough cut before release.
AFI lists the movie at 89 minutes, while some modern listings use 87 minutes or other cuts depending on version.
Box Office Mojo lists a domestic total of $49,042,224 and a domestic opening weekend of $12,653,032.

Nostalgia

Cobra is peak 1980s action minimalism: sunglasses, leather gloves, a custom pistol, a matchstick, a cult of killers, and almost no patience for nuance.
The movie’s poster, tagline, car, knife, and one-liners helped it stick around as a cult favorite long after critics rejected it.
Cobretti’s look became one of Stallone’s most recognizable non-Rocky, non-Rambo screen images.
It is the kind of movie where the hero cuts pizza with scissors, drives a chopped Mercury, and treats civil procedure like a personal inconvenience.

Easter Eggs

The “Crime is the disease. Meet the cure.” marketing line became the movie’s most famous identity marker.
Cobra’s custom pistol and matchstick habit give the character a comic-book-style silhouette.
The New World cult’s axe-clanging ritual imagery gives the villains a horror-movie edge inside an action-cop story.
The supermarket opening establishes the entire movie’s worldview: Cobra arrives when negotiations are over.
The source novel A Running Duck was later published as Fair Game, and a separate 1995 movie adaptation used that title.

Misc.

Cobra is rated R.
AFI lists the film at 89 minutes and identifies May 23, 1986 as the U.S. release date.
IMDb lists the estimated budget at $25 million and worldwide gross at $49,044,608.
The Numbers lists a $25 million production budget and a $15,652,147 opening weekend.
Your 3 Guys and a Flick ratings page lists Cobra as Episode 70, with Don rating it 3.50, Ken rating it 1.50, Jon rating it 2.75, and an overall rating of 2.58.

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