Long before earning Academy Awards and leading high-profile science fiction satires, actor Emma Stone took her first major cinematic steps in a defining 21st-century comedy that continues to find new audiences on streaming platforms.
Released in theaters on August 17, 2007, the R-rated comedy Superbad currently ranks among the ten most-watched movies on HBO Max worldwide. Directed by Greg Mottola and produced by Judd Apatow alongside Shauna Robertson and Dara Weintraub, the 113-minute feature established itself as an immediate box-office success upon its theatrical debut.
Made on a reported production budget of $17.5 million, the film went on to gross $170 million globally. That total comprised $121 million in domestic ticket sales and $49 million from international markets. The comedy opened at the number-one spot at the North American box office and successfully defended its position for a second consecutive week before eventually being unseated by a newcomer.
Scripted by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, the film starred Jonah Hill and Michael Cera as high-profile teenagers navigating adolescent awkwardness and social aspirations prior to graduation. The stacked ensemble cast also featured Rogen, Bill Hader, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Stone in her feature film debut, helping reshape modern screen comedy and inspiring numerous thematic successors over the following two decades.
While Stone has since built an acclaimed filmography featuring two Best Actress Oscar wins—first for 2016’s La La Land and later for 2023’s Poor Things—alongside a nomination for her performance as CEO Michelle Fuller in Yorgos Lanthimos’s Bugonia, the enduring popularity of her earliest project demonstrates the lasting cultural footprint of the 2007 hit.
