Synopsis

On July 2, enormous alien spacecraft appear over major cities and unleash devastating attacks on Earth. As governments and civilians struggle to survive, a diverse group of Americans joins the counteroffensive. A fighter pilot, a computer specialist, the U.S. president, and a troubled crop duster each become crucial to humanity's desperate plan to defeat the technologically superior invaders before the Fourth of July ends.

Factoids & Trivia

• The production was commonly nicknamed "ID4" because another film called Independence Day held the title rights at the time.

• The film's opening release was moved forward, with preview screenings beginning on July 2, 1996. That date also matches the first day of the story's alien invasion.

• 20th Century Fox promoted the film with an expensive Super Bowl commercial that reportedly cost $1.3 million.

• The filmmakers used a mixture of practical miniatures, optical effects, matte paintings, and computer-generated imagery for the destruction of major landmarks.

• The film became the highest-grossing release of 1996, earning more than $817 million worldwide.

• It won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and also received a nomination for Best Sound.

• A limited-edition two-disc release of David Arnold's complete score, including alternate cues, was issued in 2010.

• A sequel, Independence Day: Resurgence, arrived 20 years after the original, in 2016.