Synopsis

At the upscale Majestic Hotel, young brothers Kyle and Brian Grant befriend Dunston, an orangutan trained by a jewel thief to steal valuables. As their father struggles to satisfy the hotel's demanding owner and impress a supposedly secret critic, the boys try to protect Dunston from his criminal handler. Their efforts trigger a chain of chaotic accidents, exposing the hotel's absurd priorities and transforming Dunston into an unlikely family hero.

Factoids & Trivia

• John Hopkins originally wrote the project as a spec script about two brothers living in a prestigious hotel managed by their father. Producers Todd Black and Joe Wizan acquired it and asked Hopkins to add the orangutan element.

• Before becoming Dunston Checks In, the project was known as Prime Mates. It attracted competing bids from Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox, with Fox acquiring the script in April 1993.

• The film was one of several 1990s family comedies built around trained primates, arriving in the same development cycle as Ed and Monkey Trouble.

• The American Humane Society monitored the animal action. Although a real orangutan appears in the film, artificial animals were also used for some shots.

• Interior hotel scenes were filmed at The Dorchester in London, a location whose lavish surroundings helped sell the Majestic Hotel's exaggerated five-star image.

• The movie opened theatrically in the United States on January 12, 1996, with an estimated $20 million budget. Its domestic box-office gross was under $10 million.

• Its commercial fortunes improved considerably on home video. By 1997, reported video sales had generated an estimated $41.6 million for the studio, far exceeding the theatrical return.

• The film received an audience grade of A from CinemaScore despite generally mixed or negative critical reviews.

• Dunston Checks In was dubbed into Hindi for the Indian market and released there under the title Ek Bandar Hotel Ke Andar, meaning "A Monkey Inside the Hotel."