Matilda (1996 film)
1996 film directed by Danny DeVito
Matilda is a 1996 American fantasy comedy film based on Roald Dahl's 1988 novel Matilda and starring Mara Wilson as Matilda Wormwood. It is co-produced and directed by Danny DeVito from a screenplay by Nicholas Kazan and Robin Swicord. The film also features DeVito, Rhea Perlman, Embeth Davidtz, and Pam Ferris in supporting roles. Its plot centers on the titular child prodigy who develops psychokinetic abilities and uses them to deal with her abusive family and the tyrannical principal of her school.
Matilda was released in the United States on August 2, 1996, by Sony Pictures Releasing under their TriStar Pictures label. The film received positive reviews from critics, with praise being directed towards its faithfulness to the novel and DeVito's direction. At the box office, it grossed $47 million on a $36 million budget. However, Matilda subsequently attained greater popularity after being released on home video.
Plot
Six-year-old Matilda Wormwood is neglected and mistreated by her parents, Harry and Zinnia, who even refuse to enroll her in school, and her older brother, Michael. Smart and independent, Matilda finds solace in books at the public library.
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This entry incorporates text from “Matilda (1996 film)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.