Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters released on January 25, 2013

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters

Catching up with Hansel and Gretel 15 years after their incident involving a gingerbread house, the siblings have evolved into bounty hunters who hunt witches.
Initial release: January 17, 2013 (Russia)
Director: Tommy Wirkola
Running time: 98 minutes
Budget: 50 million USD
Screenplay: Tommy Wirkola, D.W. Harper


Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is a 2013 American-German action-horror film written and directed by Tommy Wirkola. It is a continuation to the German folk fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel", which was recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. The film stars Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton in the title roles of a brother-and-sister duo of professional witch hunters. Famke Janssen stars as the deadly leader of a coven of evil witches that they seek out to destroy.
Originally scheduled for release in March 2012, Hansel & Gretel was delayed for ten months to accommodate Renner's appearances in The Avengers and The Bourne Legacy and to give Wirkola time to shoot a post-credits scene. It premiered in North America on January 25, 2013, in 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D, as well in D-Box motion theaters and select international 4DX theaters, and was rated R in the United States. The film had its home media release on June 11, including a longer, unrated version on Blu-ray Disc.
Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters was generally panned by mainstream critics, particularly for what they saw as its weak script and gratuitous violence. However, many horror genre critics were more positive, viewing the film as unpretentiously entertaining. The film topped the domestic box office on its opening weekend and was a major hit in Brazil, Russia, Germany, and Mexico. Its worldwide theatrical run gross exceeded $225 million for the production cost of $50 million. Due to the commercial success of the film, which was planned as the first part of a series, its sequel is currently in development.





Directed by Tommy Wirkola
Produced by Will Ferrell
Adam McKay
Kevin Messick
Beau Flynn
Starring Jeremy Renner
Gemma Arterton
Famke Janssen
Thomas Mann
Peter Stormare
Pihla Viitala
Derek Mears
Music by Atli Örvarsson
Cinematography Michael Bonvillain
Editing by Jim Page
Studio MTV Films
Gary Sanchez Productions
Siebzehnte Babelsberg Film
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release dates
January 17, 2013 (Russia)
January 25, 2013 (United States)
February 28, 2013 (Germany)
Running time 88 minutes
98 minutes ("extreme version")
Country United States
Germany[3][4]
Language English
Budget $50 million

Box office $225,703,475




Hansel & Gretel are bounty hunters who track and kill witches all over the world. As the fabled Blood Moon approaches, the siblings encounter a new form of evil that might hold a secret to their past.The siblings Hansel and Gretel are left alone in the woods by their father and captured by a dark witch in a candy house. However they kill the witch and escape from the spot. Years later, the orphans have become famous witch hunters. When eleven children go missing in a small village, the Mayor summons Hansel and Gretel to rescue them, and they save the red haired Mina from the local sheriff that wants to burn her accusing Mina of witchcraft. Soon they discover that the Blood Moon will approach in three days and the powerful dark witch Muriel is the responsible for the abduction of children. She intends to use the children together with a secret ingredient in a Sabbath to make the coven of witches protected against the fire. Meanwhile Hansel and Gretel disclose secrets about their parents. Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil



I seriously enjoyed this film-- it had more gore than Mel Gibson could shake a fist at, some very cute actors, and didn't waste time with excessive back-story and details, and gave me many good laughs.

Its not an intellectually stimulating movie... duh. Its made to a hilariously entertaining popcorn flick with over-the-top action and unrealistic weapons that wouldn't have existed given the 'time period' this movie seems to be set in. So you folks out there giving it bad rap for not meeting your standards, calm down. Its clearly not trying to. :).


This movie's violence reminded me of the Expendables-- but this film never takes itself too seriously like the other film does... I found this much more fun to watch.