Bonnie Stern Anthony Battaglia as Benjy Production note Although the disaster portrayed in the film is fictional, rescue operations depicted in the movie are actual rescue operations utilized by the Navy in the event of similar emergencies or disasters, as indicated at the end of the film prior to the closing credits. For its initial broadcast on NBC-TV in September 1978, an additional 70 minutes of outtakes and new footage shot especially for network TV was added. Reception Critical reception Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 40% of 10 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 5.4/10. On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 36 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Variety wrote, "The story's formula banality is credible most of the time and there's some good actual US Navy search and rescue procedure interjected in the plot." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times rated it 2/4 stars and wrote, "The movie's a big, slick entertainment, relentlessly ridiculous and therefore never boring for long." The New York Times wrote, "Airport '77 looks less like the work of a director and writers than like a corporate decision." Box office The film grossed $30 million in the United States and Canada and $61 million internationally for a worldwide total of $91 million. Awards nominations Theme Park attraction From late 1977 until the early 1980s, the Universal Studios Tour in California featured the "Airport '77" Screen Test Theater as part of the tour. Several sets were recreated, and members of the audience were chosen to play various parts. The audience would watch as these scenes were filmed. Key scenes such as the hijacking, crash and rescue were recreated, and the footage was then incorporated into a brief digest version of the film and screened for the audience on monitors. Each show's mini-film was made available to audience members to purchase on 8mm and videotape. References External links 1977 films 1970s thriller films 1970s disaster films Airport (film series) American aviation films American disaster films 1970s English-language films Films about aviation accidents or incidents Films about aircraft hijackings Films set on airplanes Films set in Miami Films set in the Bermuda Triangle Universal Pictures films American sequel films Films based on works by Arthur Hailey Films directed by Jerry Jameson 1970s American films