Serenity (2005)

"Come a day there won't be room for naughty men like us to slip about at all. This job goes south, there well may not be another. So here is us, on the raggedy edge. Don't push me, and I won't push you."

- Mal Reynolds

Serenity is an American science fiction film written and directed by Joss Whedon. Released theatrically in the United States on September 30th, 2005, the film was produced by Universal Pictures and Barry Mendel Productions. Serenity spun out of the short-lived Fox Network television series Firefly, which ran for fourteen episodes (10 aired) from September to December of 2002. The film addresses many of the plot threads left unresolved from the series, in particular, the story behind supporting character River Tam. Although the film is held in high regard by fans and many critics, it fared only moderately at the box office, grossing only $38,869,464 in worldwide receipts. Serenity took in $10,086,680 in it's opening weekend, ranking at number two in the box office. It was screened in 2,188 movie theaters, averaging $4,610 per theater. Domestic gross for the film was $25,514,517 with $13,354,947 in the foreign market. The last theatrical showings for Serenity were on November 17th, 2005. Due to underwhelming sales figures, there are no pending plans to continue the franchise.

Notes & Trivia

 * Serenity was released to DVD by Universal Studios Home Entertainment on December 20th, 2005. It was made available in both fullscreen and widescreen editions. A Collector's Edition DVD was released on August 21st, 2007. Bonus features on the standard edition include a featurette entitled "Future History: The Story of Earth That Was", as well as the documentaries "What's in a Firefly", and "Re-Lighting the Firefly". The disc also includes an introduction by creator Joss Whedon. Serenity was re-released in Blu-ray format on December 30th, 2008.


 * Joss Whedon was also the creative influence behind the development of other popular TV programs including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Dollhouse.