Great Balls of Fire!
“The true story of a legend.”
Synopsis
The story of Jerry Lee Lewis, arguably the greatest and certainly one of the wildest musicians of the 1950s. His arrogance, remarkable talent, and unconventional lifestyle often brought him into conflict with others in the industry, and even earned him the scorn and condemnation of the public.
Trailers, Teasers & Extra Featurettes
Official promotional previews, behind-the-scenes footage, and exclusive clips.
Great Balls of Fire! (1989) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]
Type: Trailer • Published 2018-04-12
Top Cast
Explore Star Directory →
Dennis Quaid
Jerry Lee Lewis
Winona Ryder
Myra Gale Brown
John Doe
J.W. Brown
Stephen Tobolowsky
Jud Phillips
Alec Baldwin
Jimmy Swaggart
Lisa Blount
Lois Brown
Trey Wilson
Sam Phillips
Steve Allen
Steve Allen
Michael St. Gerard
Elvis
Mojo Nixon
James Van Eaton
Kelli Clevenger
Dancer (uncredited)
Joshua Sheffield
Rusty Brown
Robert Lesser
Alan Freed
Lisa Jane Persky
Babe
Paula Person
Sam's Secretary
Valerie Wellington
Big Maybelle
Carol Russell
Mamie Lewis
Crystal Robbins
Frankie Jean
Release History & Theatrical Window
New York City, New York
Festival / Special Debut
June 30, 1989
Wide Cinema Exhibition
June 16, 2003
Physical Home Media
Financials & Box Office Performance
Production Budget
$17M
Filming & production cost
Worldwide Gross
$13.7M
Total global ticket sales
Box Office Return
0.81x
-$3.3M deficit
Theatrical Status
Budget Return
Box office tier
Key Information & Fast Facts
- Director
- Jim McBride
- Screenplay & Story
- Jack Baran, Jim McBride
- Original Title
- Great Balls of Fire!
- Country of Origin
- United States of America
- Spoken Languages
- English
- Runtime
- 1h 48m
- Production Budget
- $17M
- Worldwide Gross
- $13.7M
- Production Studios
- Orion Pictures
Creative Leadership & Key Crew
Jim McBride
Jack Baran, Jim McBride, Murray Silver Jr., Myra Lewis Williams
Affonso Beato
Pembroke J. Herring, Bert Lovitt, Lisa Day
Michael Grais, Adam Fields, Mark Victor
Department Leadership Roster
Adam Fields
Producer
Pembroke J. Herring
Editor
Jack Baran
Screenplay
Affonso Beato
Director of Photography
Bert Lovitt
Editor
Jim McBride
Screenplay
Lisa Day
Editor
Jim McBride
Director
Tracy Tynan
Costume Design
David Nichols
Production Design
Steve M. Davison
Stunt Coordinator
Age Classification & Content Advisories
Official viewer rating standards and content warnings across international classification boards.
PG-13: Parents Strongly Cautioned — May contain intense action, language, or mature themes.
International Certification Matrix
FSK 12 — Restricted to viewers aged 12 and older.
Tous publics — Universal audience.
Parents Strongly Cautioned — May contain intense action, language, or mature themes.
Production Stills & Gallery
Official cinematic photography and background stills for Great Balls of Fire!.
Featured In Curated Collections
Editorial lists, community rankings, and cinematic collections featuring Great Balls of Fire!.
My Movies
Master List In Progress
Marcelo's International movies list
Watched
All movies watched by me
Movies
Abstrusest 2
All The Movies I Have Seen
All the movies i have seen in my life
Similar Titles to Great Balls of Fire!
Movies sharing stylistic DNA, tone, and thematic storytelling
![](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 2 3"%3E%3Crect width="2" height="3" fill="%23161922"/%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Tommy's Train
6.6
6.0
6.4
7.1
7.1
4.5
7.2
6.0
7.2
6.7
7.3
6.5
8.7
6.6
6.6
7.2
6.2
More Like Great Balls of Fire!
Recommended titles matching themes, cast, and genres.
Frequently Asked Questions About Great Balls of Fire!
Quick factual answers about cast, synopsis, director, box office, and release information.
What is Great Balls of Fire! about?
The story of Jerry Lee Lewis, arguably the greatest and certainly one of the wildest musicians of the 1950s. His arrogance, remarkable talent, and unconventional lifestyle often brought him into conflict with others in the industry, and even earned him the scorn and condemnation of the public.
Who directed Great Balls of Fire!?
Great Balls of Fire! was directed by Jim McBride.
Who stars in Great Balls of Fire!?
The principal cast of Great Balls of Fire! includes Dennis Quaid, Winona Ryder, John Doe, Stephen Tobolowsky, Alec Baldwin.
When was Great Balls of Fire! released and how long is it?
Great Balls of Fire! was released in 1989 with a total runtime of 1h 48m.
What was the box office and production budget of Great Balls of Fire!?
Great Balls of Fire! had a reported production budget of $17M and grossed $13.7M at the worldwide box office (0.81 return on budget, classified as a underperformed).
Is Great Balls of Fire! based on a book or true story?
Great Balls of Fire! is adapted from the following source material: Novel: "Murray Silver Jr.", Novel: "Myra Lewis Williams".
What is the age rating and content advisory for Great Balls of Fire!?
Great Balls of Fire! holds official age classifications: DE: 12 (FSK 12 — Restricted to viewers aged 12 and older.); FR: U (Tous publics — Universal audience.); US: PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned — May contain intense action, language, or mature themes.).