| The Shining | |
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 Official franchise logo | |
| Created by | Stephen King |
| Original work | The Shining |
| Owner | Warner Bros. Entertainment |
| Print publications | |
| Novel(s) | |
| Films and television | |
| Film(s) | |
| Television series | The Shining |
| Audio | |
| Soundtrack(s) | |
The Shining is an Americansupernaturalhorrormedia franchise that originated from the1977 novel of the same name byStephen King. The novel was later adapted into a1980 film and a1997 television miniseries. King later wrote a 2013 sequel novel,Doctor Sleep, which wasadapted to film in 2019.
The franchise revolves around the Torrance family as they experience the effects of supernatural entities and a mystical psychic power known as "the shining", an ability that allows a person to read minds, communicate telepathically and see horrific visions of the past and future.
| Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriter(s) | Producer(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Shining | May 23, 1980 (1980-05-23) | Stanley Kubrick | Diane Johnson & Stanley Kubrick | Stanley Kubrick |
| Doctor Sleep | November 8, 2019 (2019-11-08) | Mike Flanagan | Jon Berg & Trevor Macy | |
The Shining is a 1980 Americanpsychological horror film based on the 1977novel of the same name byStephen King. The film tells the story ofJack Torrance, an aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic, who accepts a position as the off-season caretaker of the isolated historic Overlook Hotel in theColorado Rockies. Wintering over with Jack are his wife,Wendy Torrance and young son,Danny Torrance. Danny possesses "the shining", psychic abilities that enable him to see into the hotel's horrific past. After a winter storm leaves the Torrances snowbound, Jack's sanity deteriorates due to the influence of the supernatural forces that inhabit the hotel, placing his wife and son in danger.Jack Nicholson stars as Jack Torrance,Shelley Duvall stars as Wendy Torrance,Danny Lloyd stars as Danny Torrance, andScatman Crothers stars as Dick Hallorann.
The film was released in theUnited States on May 23, 1980, byWarner Bros. Reactions to the film at the time of its release were mixed; Stephen King criticized the film due to its deviations from the novel. Critical opinion has become more favorable and it is now widely regarded as one of thegreatest and most influential horror films ever made and has become a staple of pop culture. In 2018, the film was selected for preservation in the United StatesNational Film Registry by theLibrary of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[1]
Doctor Sleep is a 2019 Americansupernatural horror film based on the 2013novel of the same name byStephen King, a sequel to King's 1977 novelThe Shining. The film, which also serves as a direct sequel to thefilm adaptation ofThe Shining, directed byStanley Kubrick, is set several decades after the events of the 1980 film. The film follows an older version ofDanny Torrance, a man with psychic abilities who struggles with childhood trauma. Danny must protect a young girl with similar powers from a cult known as The True Knot, who prey on children with powers to remain immortal.Ewan McGregor stars as Danny Torrance.
Doctor Sleep was released in the United States on November 8, 2019. The film received generally positive reviews, with praise for its performances and atmosphere, but with some criticism for its lengthy runtime.[2] Having grossed $72 million worldwide, its performance at the box office was considered to be disappointing due to the success of King adaptations such asIt Chapter Two andPet Sematary, earlier in the year.[citation needed]
In November 2019, it was revealed that a follow-up film titledHallorann, was in development with Mike Flanagan writing the screenplay with intentions to direct. The story was reported to center aroundRichard "Dick" Hallorann and his origin story, while being classified as a sequel film. Progress on the project was placed on-hold, following the less-than-expected box office opening forDoctor Sleep.[3] In August 2020, Flanagan confirmed that the project has been placed on an indefinite hold, while noting that it may be revived in the future.[4]
Flanagan also stated that he is interested in directing a sequel focused on Abra Stone, and that he has discussed the idea with King, who was receptive to the idea.[5]
The Shining is a three-episodehorror televisionminiseries based on the 1977 Stephen King novel of the same name. Directed byMick Garris from King's teleplay, it is the second adaptation of King's book after the 1980 film by Stanley Kubrick. The adaptation starsSteven Weber asJack Torrance,Rebecca De Mornay as Jack's wifeWendy,Courtland Mead andWil Horneff as different-aged versions ofDanny Torrance, andMelvin Van Peebles asDick Hallorann.
The Shining opened to overwhelming praise from critics when it aired in 1997,[6] which included a 10/10 review fromTV Guide.[7] The miniseries' "carefully" and "masterfully crafted" pacing was highlighted by several reviewers,[8][9] including Ray Richmond ofVariety, who also noted its "edge-of-your-seat creepiness" and "surprising emotional complexity and depth".[10] The depth and creepiness was also praised by Ken Tucker ofEntertainment Weekly.[11] However,Tom Shales ofThe Washington Post advised his readers to "avoid [the miniseries] like the plague, because it is the plague".[12]
In April 2020, a spin-off television series titledOverlook was announced to be in-development under the direction ofJ. J. Abrams as anHBO Maxstreaming service exclusive release. Abrams with his business partner/wife, Katie McGrath will executive produce the show alongside series writers Dustin Thomason and Scott Brown.
Originally conceived and greenlit as a prequel film titledOverlook Hotel withMark Romanek andGlen Mazzara attached as director and screenwriter, respectively, the project was confirmed abandoned prior to the series order.[13] The project was to be a joint-venture production betweenBad Robot Productions, andWarner Bros. TV Group collectively. Additionally, Warner Bros. Entertainment organized a writers room to continue working on scripts for the series, during the industry shutdown due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[14]
In February 2021, head ofHBO Casey Bloys said that "they're busily working away at Bad Robot".[15] By August of the same year however, though HBO Max executives liked the project they felt it did not fit their slate and it was decided that the series would not move forward at HBO Max. Warner Bros. Television was shopping the series around to other streaming services before it was picked up byNetflix the following year.[16][17] The series has not been produced as of 2025.
Before makingThe Shining, Kubrick directed the filmBarry Lyndon (1975), a highly visual period film about an Irishman who attempts to make his way into the British aristocracy. Despite its technical achievements, the film was not a box-office success in the United States and was derided by critics for being too long and too slow. Kubrick, disappointed withBarry Lyndon's lack of success, realized he needed to make a film that would be commercially viable as well as artistically fulfilling. Stephen King was told that Kubrick had his staff bring him stacks of horror books as he planted himself in his office to read them all: "Kubrick's secretary heard the sound of each book hitting the wall as the director flung it into a reject pile after reading the first few pages. Finally one day the secretary noticed it had been a while since she had heard the thud of another writer's work biting the dust. She walked in to check on her boss and found Kubrick deeply engrossed in readingThe Shining".[18]
Speaking about the theme of the film, Kubrick stated that "there's something inherently wrong with the human personality. There's an evil side to it. One of the things that horror stories can do is to show us the archetypes of the unconscious; we can see the dark side without having to confront it directly".[19] Nicholson was Kubrick's first choice for the role of Jack Torrance; other actors considered includedRobert De Niro (who claims the film gave him nightmares for a month),[20]Robin Williams, andHarrison Ford, all of whom met withStephen King's disapproval.[21] In his search to find the right actor to play Danny, Kubrick sent a husband and wife team, Leon and Kersti Vitali, to Chicago, Denver, and Cincinnati to create an interview pool of 5,000 boys over a six-month period. These cities were chosen since Kubrick was looking for a boy with an accent which fell in between Jack Nicholson's and Shelley Duvall's speech patterns.[22]
Having chosen King's novel as a basis for his next project, and after a pre-production phase, Kubrick hadsets constructed on soundstages atEMI Elstree Studios inBorehamwood,Hertfordshire, England. Some of the interior designs of the Overlook Hotel set were based on those of theAhwahnee Hotel inYosemite National Park. To enable him to shoot the scenes in chronological order, he used several stages at EMI Elstree Studios in order to make all sets available during the complete duration of production. The set for the Overlook Hotel was at the time the largest ever built at Elstree, including a life-size re-creation of the exterior of the hotel.[23] In February 1979, the set at Elstree was badly damaged in a fire, causing a delay in the production.[24][25]
Warner Bros. Pictures began developing a film adaptation ofDoctor Sleep as early as 2014.[26] In 2016, filmmakerAkiva Goldsman was attached to write and produce the film for Warner Bros.[27] For several years, Warner Bros. could not secure a budget forDoctor Sleep, or for a different project, a prequel toThe Shining calledOverlook Hotel.[28]
In late 2017, Warner Bros. releasedIt, a film adaptation of King's1986 novel of the same name, and its box office success led the studio to fast track production ofDoctor Sleep. In January 2018, Warner Bros. hiredMike Flanagan to rewrite Goldsman's script and direct the film, with Goldsman receiving executive producer credit.[29] On why he was interested in directingDoctor Sleep, Flanagan explained: "It touches on themes that are the most attractive to me, which are childhood trauma leading into adulthood, addiction, the breakdown of a family, and the after effects, decades later".[30]
From June to November, the cast was assembled.[31][32]
Filming began in September in the U.S. state ofGeorgia; locations includedAtlanta andSt. Simons.[33] In the area of Atlanta, specific locations includedCovington,Canton,Stone Mountain,Midtown,Porterdale, andFayetteville.[34] Production concluded in December.[35][36]
The film score was composed byThe Newton Brothers (Andy Grush and Taylor Stewart), who also composed scores for Flanagan's previous works.[37]WaterTower Music has released the film score.
The creation of this miniseries is attributed to Stephen King's dissatisfaction with directorStanley Kubrick's 1980film of the same name.[38] In order to receive Kubrick's approval to re-adaptThe Shining into a program closer to the original story, King had to agree in writing to eschew his frequent public criticism of Kubrick's film, save for the sole commentary that he was disappointed withJack Nicholson's portrayal of Jack Torrance as though he had been insane before his arrival at the Overlook Hotel.[39][40]ABC's success with previous miniseries adaptations of King's work, such asIt (1990),The Tommyknockers (1993), andThe Stand (1994), made them more than willing to offer the author to work on the screenplay forThe Shining miniseries with smallBroadcast Standards and Practices enforced.[41]
The casting team had a very difficult time finding an actor for the role ofJack Torrance[42] as most of the considerations who rejected the role worried about being compared to Nicholson's performance in the Kubrick version.[43] Two of the many actors considered includedTim Daly andGary Sinise.[42] King got very impatient, threatening to "wait another 18 years" if the role for Jack Torrance wasn't booked.[44] Finally, via a suggestion fromRebecca De Mornay, Steven Weber was chosen for the role,[42] four days before filming began.[43] Weber accepted the offer because he was a fan of theMick Garris-directed miniseries forThe Stand and found the script he read to be "multi-layered" and relatable.[45] King was the one who chose De Mornay for the role ofWendy.[46] The producers approached her in 1994, and she accepted the role, enjoying the script for being more "scary", "disturbing", "entertaining", and closer to the novel than the Kubrick version.[46]
Aside from the motive behind the creation of the miniseries, the 1997 rendition featured an important set piece that helped to inspire the original story:The Stanley Hotel inEstes Park, Colorado. King used the hotel that inspired him to write the book as the miniseries' location, with some interior shots in stages also in Denver.[43] Garris tried to make the hotel feel as "enclosed" as possible to add a vibe ofclaustrophobia when in a closed hotel; the crew did this by emphasizing the "darkness" of the hotel,[47] painting some of Stanley's areas that had recently been painted white brown.[43]
The production team began shooting at the Stanley Hotel in March 1997, the date chosen as it was Denver's snowiest month.[43] However, on the day filming began, they realized the hotel as well as most of Estes Park was in a "snow shadow", meaning it garnered the least amount of snow out of all Denver areas.[43] As a result, they spent $100,000 insnowmaking machines sent fromLos Angeles while lucking out on "three or four" shooting days with actual snow falling on Estes.[43] Producer Mark Carliner attributed the lucky snowfalls to aUteshaman doing a ritual at the highest peak of the Rocky Mountains.[43] The cast and crew, such as Cynthia Garris, Mick Garris' wife who plays the woman in Room 217; and Dawn Jeffrey-Nelson, Courtland Mead's acting coach claimed paranormal experiences occurring at the hotel during shooting.[43]
Some of the cast enjoyed working onThe Shining. Mead "wasn't scared" as he had acted previously in horror films likeHellraiser: Bloodline (1996);[45]John Durbin enjoyed the "madness" he got to portray with his character of Horace Derwent;[45] andStanley Anderson, who accepted the part of Delbert Grady based on his disappointment with the Kubrick version, tried to play the character "real" but with "a sense of distance to [his] view of the other and the world, so it comes out as irony or wryness".[48] However, it was tough for Weber to play his character; because the scenes were not shot in chronological order, it was very difficult to master the character's mental state deterioration, due to it occurring gradually as the story progresses.[45]
In September 2019,J. J. Abrams and his production company,Bad Robot Productions, signed an exclusive deal to produce projects forWarner Bros.[49] Seven months later,HBO Max announced to develop a spin-off series of the novelThe Shining, titledOverlook.[50][51][52] The new series was to consist of 10 episodes.[53]Overlook aims to focus on the untold stories of the Overlook Hotel from the novel, before the Torrances' arrival. Abrams will produce the series through his Bad Robot banner, alongsideBen Stephenson and Rachel Rusch Rich.[52] However, by August 2021, the show did not move forward on HBO Max,[54] and was later picked up byNetflix.[55]
This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in notable roles in the franchise.
| Film | Crew/Detail | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Composers | Cinematographer | Editor | Production companies | Distributing company | Running time | ||
| The Shining | Wendy Carlos Rachel Elkind | John Alcott | Ray Lovejoy | Hawk Films Peregrine Productions The Producer Circle Company | Warner Bros. Pictures(US) Columbia-EMI-Warner Distributors(UK) | 144 min | |
| Doctor Sleep | Andy Grush Taylor Newton Stewart | Michael Fimognari | Mike Flanagan | Intrepid Pictures Vertigo Entertainment | Warner Bros. Pictures | 152 min | |
| Overlook | TBA | TBA | TBA | Max Originals Bad Robot Productions Warner Bros. TV Group | Max | TBA | |
| Film | Box office gross | Box office ranking | Home video total | Gross income | Budget | Net income | Ref(s) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | Other territories | Worldwide | All time North America | All time worldwide | ||||||
| The Shining | $44,568,631 | $727,542 | $45,296,173 | #1,959 | #9,613 | $10,130,294 | $55,426,467 | $19,000,000 | $36,426,467 | [56][57] |
| Doctor Sleep | $31,581,712 | $40,800,000 | $72,381,712 | #2,707 | #2,021 | $9,073,129 | $81,454,841 | $45,000,000 | $36,454,841 | [58][59] |
| Total | $76,150,343 | $41,800,000 | $117,677,885 | x̄2,333 | x̄5,817 | $19,203,423 | $136,881,308 | $64,000,000 | $72,881,308 | |
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic | CinemaScore |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Shining | 84% (110 reviews)[60] | 68/100 (26 reviews)[61] | —[62] |
| Doctor Sleep | 78% (339 reviews)[63] | 59/100 (56 reviews)[64] | B+[62][65] |
In 2013, King published a 'Shining' sequel 'Dr. Sleep', which Warners is also trying to get off the ground.
blindsided here by a disastrous performance of its well-reviewed (73% fresh), well-received (B+ CinemaScore and 4 stars on Screen Engine/Comscore PostTrak, 60% definite recommend) Stephen King sequel
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