The Rookie backdrop
The Rookie poster
#5,446 All-time worldwide
#59 1990 releases

Movie profile

The Rookie

1990 · 121 min · Malpaso Productions

Action Crime Drama Thriller
IMDb FilmDB Where to watch

Box office snapshot

Financial performance

Reference figures based on available reported data.
Worldwide gross $21.6M
Budget $10.0M
Gross minus budget $11.6M
ROI 2.16x

Domestic gross

$10.8M

Estimated from worldwide gross

International gross

$10.8M

Estimated from worldwide gross

Opening weekend

$1.9M

Estimated from worldwide gross

Ranking context

Where The Rookie ranks

Positioned across the all-time chart, release year, studio, franchise and genre indexes where enough mapped data exists.
Open rankings
All-time worldwide #5,446 All-time chart position of 12,922 titles Compared with every rankable movie in the current worldwide dataset. 1990 releases #59 Release-year chart position of 205 titles Ranked against movies released in 1990. Studio / company #12 Malpaso Productions of 19 titles Position inside the mapped Malpaso Productions movie set. Primary genre #1,651 Action of 2,939 titles Genre context based on the first mapped genre on this profile.

Nearby worldwide ranks

Comparable titles immediately around this movie by reported worldwide gross.

#5,443 KKN: Curse of the Dancing Village 2022 · $21.6M #5,444 undertone 2026 · $21.6M #5,445 Crayon Shin-chan: Fast Asleep! Dreaming World Big Assault! 2016 · $21.6M #5,451 Consenting Adults 1992 · $21.6M #5,452 Father Stu 2022 · $21.6M #5,453 Man of the House 2005 · $21.6M

Quick answer

How did The Rookie (1990) perform at the box office?

High confidence

The Rookie (1990) earned a reported $21.6M worldwide against a reported $10.0M production budget. Its gross-minus-budget figure is about $11.6M. The current gross-to-budget multiple is 2.16x. In this database it currently ranks #5,446 in the current all-time worldwide chart set and #59 among 1990 releases.

Worldwide gross
$21,600,000
Budget
$10,000,000
Gross minus budget
$11,600,000
ROI
2.16x
Source: TMDb. Last updated: Jul 13, 2026. View source Gross-minus-budget is not studio net profit. It excludes marketing, distribution fees, revenue splits, tax incentives and later home/streaming revenue.

Synopsis

Story

Veteran cop Nick Pulovski is used to playing musical partners; many of the partners he's had in the past have died on the job, and often as a result of Nick's risky tactics. But the rookie who's been assigned to help Nick bust a carjacking ring is almost as hotheaded as he is … and when Nick gets kidnapped, his newbie partner is his only hope.

Movie facts

Production details

Release date
Dec 7, 1990
Production
Malpaso Productions, Warner Bros. Pictures
Countries
US

Related indexes

Browse related box office pages

Studio / production companyMalpaso Productions Release year chart1990 box office Genre chartAction Genre chartCrime Genre chartDrama Genre chartThriller

JustWatch

Where to watch

Streaming availability loaded for the selected region.
View all options
Showing United States availability.

Rent

Amazon Video Fandango At Home Apple TV Store YouTube Google Play Movies

Buy

Amazon Video Fandango At Home Apple TV Store YouTube Google Play Movies

Availability and provider links are powered by JustWatch where available. Provider availability can change by region and date.

AI summary

Why this movie matters

Released in 1990, The Rookie is positioned in this dataset as a Action, Crime, Drama title from Malpaso Productions. Its box office profile shows that available worldwide gross is $21.6M, reported production budget is $10.0M, gross-minus-budget is $11.6M, ROI is 2.16x. For comparison, it currently sits #5,446 all-time in the current chart set and #59 among 1990 releases. Streaming availability should be checked against the selected United States region because provider rights can change.

AI-generated contextual summary based on available movie, genre, ranking and box office data. It does not replace official distributor notes or financial reporting.
Data noteGross minus budget is not studio net profit. It excludes marketing, distribution fees, revenue splits, tax incentives and downstream revenue. Domestic, international and opening weekend figures marked as estimated are modelled estimates.