WarGames poster

WarGames

Is it a game, or is it real?

7.1(2,281)19831h 54m12

High school student David Lightman has a talent for hacking. But while trying to hack into a computer system to play unreleased video games, he unwittingly taps into the Department of Defense's war computer and initiates a confrontation of global proportions. Together with his friend and a wizardly computer genius, David must race against time to outwit his opponent and prevent a nuclear Armageddon.

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Status
Released
Budget
$12M
Box office
$124.6M
Language
English
Part of WarGames Collection · 2 films
  • artificial intelligence (a.i.)
  • computer
  • government
  • hacker
  • video game
  • cold war
  • fbi
  • prosecution
  • norad
  • nuclear threat
  • paranoid
  • political thriller

Top billed cast

Behind the camera

Director

John Badham

Produced in

United States of America

Where to watch

All options

Availability for India. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.

Gallery

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Videos

Release dates

  • United StatesUS

    • TheatricalPG3 Jun 1983
    • PhysicalPG23 Jul 1996
    • TheatricalPGRe-release24 Jul 2008
  • United KingdomGB

    • TheatricalPG18 Aug 1983
  • United Arab EmiratesAE

    • PhysicalBlu-ray7 Jan 2013
  • AustraliaAU

    • TheatricalPG4 Aug 1983
  • CanadaCA

    • PhysicalDVD1 Apr 2003
  • ArgentinaAR

    • Theatrical7 Jul 1983
  • BelgiumBE

    • Theatrical (limited)16Gent15 Dec 1983
  • BrazilBR

    • Theatrical9 Jan 1984
  • ColombiaCO

    • Theatrical5 Apr 1984
  • DenmarkDK

    • Theatrical117 Oct 1983
  • EgyptEG

    • PhysicalDVD8 May 2021
  • FinlandFI

    • TheatricalK-124 Nov 1983

Frequently asked questions

WarGames was released on 3 June 1983.

Audience reviews

3
  • J

    John Chard

    4/26/2020

    7/10

    Wanna play Global Thermonuclear War? It was with much interest to me to revisit this early 80s hacker piece armed with the knowledge of just how the advent of change in the computer world had evolved. With that in mind the film could quite easily be classed as a bit clunky due to the now almost Neanderthal toys, games and computers used in the movie, but casting aside the nostalgia feelings I had with it, it still…

  • G

    GenerationofSwine

    1/13/2023

    10/10

    Ally Sheedy, whatever happened to her. When I was a little kid, I mean REALLY little she was one of the few stars I could name...and then she disappeared save for a couple memorable appearances in Psych. It's a shame. Anyway, my fiance is a Millennial and I've been trying to introduce her and her friends to some classic films. This one was a fail. They sat through it, but really only to mock the technology. Mockin…

  • C

    CinemaSerf

    6/20/2025

    7/10

    When the young computer whizz-kid “David” (Matthew Broderick) is showing off to his girlfriend “Jennifer” (Ally Sheedy) about how he can improve her grades and book them on a first class trip to Paris, he inadvertently dials a telephone number that wants to play a game. A game of thermonuclear war! Next day, the news is full of stories about the mobilisation of American defence capabilities and his phone rings again.…

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