The Serpent and the Rainbow backdrop
The Serpent and the Rainbow poster
#5,761 All-time worldwide
#55 1988 releases

Movie profile

The Serpent and the Rainbow

1988 · 98 min · Universal Pictures

Horror Thriller
IMDb FilmDB Where to watch

Box office snapshot

Financial performance

Reference figures based on available reported data.
Worldwide gross $19.6M
Budget $11.0M
Gross minus budget $8.6M
ROI 1.78x

Domestic gross

$9.4M

Estimated from worldwide gross

International gross

$10.2M

Estimated from worldwide gross

Opening weekend

$4.0M

Estimated from worldwide gross

Ranking context

Where The Serpent and the Rainbow ranks

Positioned across the all-time chart, release year, studio, franchise and genre indexes where enough mapped data exists.
Open rankings
All-time worldwide #5,761 All-time chart position of 12,922 titles Compared with every rankable movie in the current worldwide dataset. 1988 releases #55 Release-year chart position of 248 titles Ranked against movies released in 1988. Studio / company #245 Universal Pictures of 377 titles Position inside the mapped Universal Pictures movie set. Primary genre #548 Horror of 1,240 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.

#5,758 Dead Man Down 2013 · $19.6M #5,759 The Astronaut's Wife 1999 · $19.6M #5,760 The Seduction of Joe Tynan 1979 · $19.6M #5,762 1st Kiss 2025 · $19.6M #5,763 Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler 1992 · $19.6M #5,764 S1m0ne 2002 · $19.6M

Quick answer

How did The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) perform at the box office?

High confidence

The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988) earned a reported $19.6M worldwide against a reported $11.0M production budget. Its gross-minus-budget figure is about $8.6M. The current gross-to-budget multiple is 1.78x. In this database it currently ranks #5,761 in the current all-time worldwide chart set and #55 among 1988 releases.

Worldwide gross
$19,595,031
Budget
$11,000,000
Gross minus budget
$8,595,031
ROI
1.78x
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

A Harvard anthropologist is sent to Haiti to retrieve a strange powder that is said to have the power to bring human beings back from the dead. In his quest to find the miracle drug, the cynical scientist enters the rarely seen netherworld of walking zombies, blood rites and ancient curses. Based on the true life experiences of Wade Davis and filmed on location in Haiti, it's a frightening excursion into black magic and the supernatural.

Movie facts

Production details

Release date
Feb 5, 1988
Production
Universal Pictures
Countries
US, HT, DO

Related indexes

Browse related box office pages

Studio / production companyUniversal Pictures Release year chart1988 box office Genre chartHorror Genre chartThriller

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AI summary

Why this movie matters

Released in 1988, The Serpent and the Rainbow is positioned in this dataset as a Horror, Thriller title from Universal Pictures. Its box office profile shows that available worldwide gross is $19.6M, reported production budget is $11.0M, gross-minus-budget is $8.6M, ROI is 1.78x. For comparison, it currently sits #5,761 all-time in the current chart set and #55 among 1988 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.