The King of Comedy (film)

The King of Comedy is a 1982^[3] American satirical black comedy film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro (in his fifth collaboration with Scorsese), Jerry Lewis and Sandra Bernhard.^[4] Written by Paul D. Zimmerman, the film focuses on themes such as celebrity worship and American media culture. 20th Century-Fox released the film on February 18, 1983, in the United States,^[5] although the film was released two months earlier in Iceland.^[6] In the film, an aspiring stand-up comedian is increasingly obsessed with a successful comedian whom he met by chance.

Production began in New York on June 1, 1981, to avoid clashing with a forthcoming writers' strike,^[7] and opened at the Cannes Film Festival in 1983.^[8][9] The film received mostly positive reviews from critics but was a flop at the box office, grossing $2.5 million against its $19 million budget. It is the first production of Embassy International Pictures, later Regency Enterprises, and was Lewis's third film for 20th Century Fox. It has become a cult classic.^[10]