ⓘ Details

Movie TitleRoboCop

Release DateJuly 17, 1987 in the United States

TaglinePart man. Part machine. All cop.

Runtime102 minutes / 1 hour 42 minutes

DirectorPaul Verhoeven

Screenplay Written ByEdward Neumeier and Michael Miner

Based OnOriginal screenplay by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner

Is It a Remake?No. RoboCop is an original sci-fi action film.

BudgetApproximately $13 million

Box OfficeApprox. $53.4 million domestic / Approx. $58.7 million worldwide

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👥 Main Cast

Peter WellerOfficer Alex Murphy / RoboCop

Nancy AllenOfficer Anne Lewis

Dan O’HerlihyThe Old Man

Ronny CoxDick Jones

Kurtwood SmithClarence Boddicker

Miguel FerrerBob Morton

Robert DoQuiSergeant Warren Reed

Ray WiseLeon Nash

Felton PerryDonald Johnson

Paul McCraneEmil Antonowsky

Jesse D. GoinsJoe Cox

Del ZamoraSteve Minh

Calvin JungSteve Minh

Rick LiebermanWalker

Lee de BrouxSal

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🏆 Awards

⭐ Academy Special Achievement Award — Sound Effects Editing, Stephen Hunter Flick and John Pospisil

⭐ Academy Award Nominee — Best Sound

⭐ Academy Award Nominee — Best Film Editing

⭐ Saturn Award Winner — Best Science Fiction Film

⭐ Saturn Award Winner — Best Director, Paul Verhoeven

⭐ Saturn Award Winner — Best Writing, Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner

⭐ Saturn Award Winner — Best Special Effects

⭐ Hugo Award Nominee — Best Dramatic Presentation

⭐ No Golden Globe nominations were verified for the film.

⭐ No BAFTA nominations were verified for the film.

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📖 Short Plot Summary

In a crime-ridden future Detroit, police officer Alex Murphy is brutally murdered by Clarence Boddicker’s gang and rebuilt by Omni Consumer Products as RoboCop, a cybernetic law-enforcement weapon. At first, he functions as corporate property, following directives and cleaning up the streets with machine-like precision. But as buried memories of Murphy’s life return, RoboCop begins investigating his own death, uncovering corruption that leads from street criminals to the executives who created him.

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❝ Key Quotes

“Dead or alive, you’re coming with me.” — RoboCop

“I’d buy that for a dollar!” — Bixby Snyder

“Your move, creep.” — RoboCop

“Come quietly or there will be trouble.” — RoboCop

“Can you fly, Bobby?” — Clarence Boddicker

“Nice shooting, son. What’s your name?” — The Old Man

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💡 Trivia

Director

RoboCop was directed by Paul Verhoeven.
The film was Verhoeven’s first major American studio feature after his success in Dutch cinema.
Verhoeven’s mix of graphic violence, corporate satire, media parody, and absurd humor helped make the film much sharper than a simple action movie.
The movie uses fake news broadcasts and commercials to build a world where greed, privatization, consumerism, and violence are all part of the same machine.

Cast / Casting

Peter Weller stars as Alex Murphy and RoboCop, performing under a heavy suit that required precise physical movement.
Nancy Allen plays Anne Lewis, Murphy’s partner and the emotional bridge back to his human identity.
Kurtwood Smith plays Clarence Boddicker, one of 1980s cinema’s nastiest and most memorable villains.
Ronny Cox plays Dick Jones, giving the film its corporate villain edge.
Miguel Ferrer plays Bob Morton, the ambitious executive who turns Murphy’s body into OCP’s new product.

Soundtrack / Score

Basil Poledouris composed the film’s score.
The main theme combines heroic brass, mechanical rhythm, and tragic undertones, matching RoboCop’s identity as both machine and murdered man.
The score gives the film a mythic quality, even when the visuals are satirical, brutal, or darkly funny.
Poledouris also scored Conan the Barbarian, another major genre film with a huge, memorable musical identity.

Location

The story is set in a near-future version of Detroit, Michigan.
Much of the film was shot in Dallas, Texas, which stood in for futuristic Detroit.
Additional filming took place in Pennsylvania and California.
The Dallas City Hall exterior became one of the film’s most recognizable OCP building locations.

Behind-The-Scenes

The screenplay was written by Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner.
Arne Schmidt produced the film for Orion Pictures.
The RoboCop suit was designed by Rob Bottin, whose work helped define the character’s instantly recognizable silhouette.
The film’s stop-motion ED-209 effects were created by Phil Tippett and his team.
The movie was initially rated X because of its violence before edits helped secure an R rating.

Nostalgia

RoboCop became one of the defining sci-fi action movies of the 1980s.
The movie spawned sequels, a remake, animated shows, live-action television, comics, video games, toys, and decades of pop-culture references.
Its mix of action, satire, and outrageous commercial breaks made it feel like both an action blockbuster and a warning about where the future was heading.
Lines like “Dead or alive, you’re coming with me” and “I’d buy that for a dollar” remain deeply tied to the movie’s cult status.

Easter Eggs

The fake “I’d buy that for a dollar!” show is used as a repeating joke that satirizes lowest-common-denominator entertainment.
RoboCop’s three prime directives, and the hidden fourth directive, frame the entire story around the conflict between justice and corporate control.
ED-209’s malfunctioning boardroom demo is one of the film’s funniest and most brutal corporate-satire scenes.
Murphy’s gun-twirl echoes a habit from his human life, showing his identity surfacing beneath the programming.
The final answer to “What’s your name?” is one of the movie’s cleanest emotional payoffs.

Misc.

RoboCop is rated R.
Box Office Mojo lists the film’s domestic gross at approximately $53.4 million.
The Numbers lists the production budget at $13 million and worldwide gross at approximately $58.7 million.
The film won a Special Achievement Academy Award for Sound Effects Editing and received nominations for Sound and Film Editing.
Your 3 Guys and a Flick ratings page lists Robocop as Episode 75, with Don rating it 2.75, Ken rating it 3.25, Jon rating it 3.75, and an overall rating of 3.25.

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