Synopsis

When astronomers discover that the Wolf-Biederman comet is on a collision course with Earth, governments race to develop a desperate rescue plan. A crewed mission attempts to split the comet, while officials prepare secret shelters for survivors. As the deadline approaches, a teenage stargazer, a determined reporter, and the American president confront the human cost of extinction.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film grew out of producers Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown's long-running effort to remake the 1951 science-fiction film When Worlds Collide. Steven Spielberg later became involved as executive producer after combining that project with his plans for a film inspired by Arthur C. Clarke's The Hammer of God.

• Deep Impact was released in the United States on May 8, 1998, only a few weeks before Armageddon, which used a similar comet-or-asteroid disaster premise. The two films became one of the most notable examples of competing Hollywood productions built around the same concept.

• The production emphasized a more restrained, scientifically oriented approach than many disaster films. Astronomers generally considered its treatment of the comet threat and the resulting tidal effects more plausible than Armageddon.

• Cinematographer Dietrich Lohmann was seriously ill with leukemia during production and died before the film's release. The finished movie includes a dedication to him in its closing credits.

• The film opened with approximately $41 million in North American ticket sales and ultimately earned about $349 million worldwide against an $80 million production budget. It ranked among the highest-grossing films released in 1998.

• A line in the president's televised address originally ended with "This is not Armageddon." The reference was removed after the filmmakers recognized that the similarly titled rival film would be released later that summer.