Poseidon (2006)
12-month trend
12-month trend
Monthly article views
2025-09 to 2026-08
Passengers on a luxury cruise ship must find a way to escape after the vessel is capsized by a massive rogue wave.
The story
The Poseidon, a luxury cruise ship, is making a transatlantic crossing from London. As passengers celebrate a New Year's Eve party, a massive rogue wave strikes the vessel, causing it to flip completely upside-down. The disaster leaves many passengers and crew trapped in the inverted ship. Amidst the chaos, a group of survivors, including a former New York City Mayor and a professional gambler, must navigate the submerged and overturned ship to find a way to escape the sinking vessel before they are trapped underwater.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
During a New Year's Eve celebration on a luxury cruise ship crossing the Atlantic, a massive rogue wave strikes the Poseidon, flipping it upside-down. Survivors are scattered across different sections of the ship. Robert Ramsey, a former mayor, tries to lead others through the wreckage. In the ballroom, they find a child; in the nightclub, others struggle with electrical hazards. A gambler named Dylan leads a group toward the bow thrusters, which are now above water. They navigate through a flooded galley and a crumbling lobby, facing hazards like falling debris and fire. Along the way, several characters, including a man named Larry and a woman named Elena, are killed. The group eventually reaches the bow thruster room. Robert goes underwater to shut off the engines, successfully reversing them before he is overcome by water. The resulting explosion creates an opening, allowing the survivors to jump into the ocean and be rescued by nearby ships just as the ship sinks to the bottom.
- First release year
- 2006
- Runtime (minutes)
- 98
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Wolfgang Petersen
- Writers
- Mark Protosevich · screenplay; Akiva Goldsman · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Kurt Russell; Josh Lucas; Richard Dreyfuss; Emmy Rossum; Jacinda Barrett; Mike Vogel; Mía Maestro; Jimmy Bennett; Andre Braugher
- Genres
- action; disaster
- Themes
- survival; resilience
- Tone and mood
- tense; dramatic
- Setting
- A luxury cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean during a New Year's Eve celebration.
- Premise and plot tags
- disaster; survival; remake
- Source material / true-story basis
- The Poseidon Adventure (1969 novel by Paul Gallico)
- Franchise connections
- The Poseidon Adventure
- Reception
- The film was criticized for its lackluster script but praised for its visuals. It was a box-office bomb for the studio despite grossing $181 million, due to high production and marketing costs.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 33% · review count: 204; Metacritic · score: 50 · scale: 100 · review count: 36
- Awards and nominations
- Golden Raspberry Award · Worst Remake or Ripoff · Nominated; Academy Award · Best Visual Effects · Nominated
- Production trivia
- The film's sets were inspired by the RMS Queen Mary and Queen Mary 2.; The production featured a large water tank to simulate flooding.; The film was released in IMAX format.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
Your lists
Loading your lists…