Dead Calm poster

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Dead Calm

1989 · Movie · 96 min
C

MEANRANK

69/100

Averaged across 11 ratings · 131.6K votes

Every rating

Platform pages last read 29 September 2026. IMDb’s figure comes from IMDb’s own data file, which we re-read about once a month.

Google: Google retired the star ratings it used to show in search results, so this one no longer updates. More on where the numbers come from →

50–84 out of 100

Split

Lowest is Criticker on 50, highest is Rotten Tomatoes critics on 84.

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Compare Trailer

A couple is sailing the Pacific to recover from the tragic death of their son. They rescue a man from a sinking schooner who claims the rest of his crew died of food poisoning. The husband investigates the other boat and discovers the man is a dangerous psychopath, leaving his wife trapped alone with him.

Details

Director
Phillip Noyce
Based on
Dead Calm by Charles Williams
Released
7 April 1989
Country
Australia
Language
English
Runtime
96 min
Rated
R
Budget
$10.4M
Box office
$7.8M
Awards
5 wins, 6 nominations

This title elsewhere

Nicole Kidman

Nicole Kidman

Rae Ingram

Sam Neill

Sam Neill

John Ingram

Billy Zane

Billy Zane

Hughie Warriner

Rod Mullinar

Rod Mullinar

Russell Bellows

Michael Long

Michael Long

Specialist Doctor

Lisa Collins

Lisa Collins

'Orpheus' Cruise Girl

Awards & nominations

See all 11 →

5 wins from 11 nominations across 4 ceremonies

Saturn Awards 1991 Best Actress Nicole Kidman Nominee
Chicago Film Critics Association Award 1990 Most Promising Actor Billy Zane Nominee
Motion Picture Sound Editors Award 1990 Best Sound Editing - Foreign Feature Ben Osmo, Lee Smith, Roger Savage Winner
Australian Film Institute Awards 1989 Best Original Music Score Graeme Revell Winner
Australian Film Institute Awards 1989 Best Cinematography Dean Semler Winner
Australian Film Institute Awards 1989 Best Film George Miller Nominee
Australian Film Institute Awards 1989 Best Sound Ben Osmo, Lee Smith, Roger Savage Winner
Australian Film Institute Awards 1989 Best Production Design Graham Grace Walker Nominee
Show all 11 awards across 4 ceremonies

Awards from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA.