The Birdcage

The Birdcage
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Mike Nichols
Screenplay by	Elaine May
Based on	La Cage aux Folles by Jean Poiret La Cage aux Folles by Francis Veber Édouard Molinaro Marcello Danon Jean Poiret
Produced by	Mike Nichols
Starring	Robin Williams Gene Hackman Nathan Lane Dianne Wiest
Cinematography	Emmanuel Lubezki
Edited by	Arthur Schmidt
Music by	Jonathan Tunick
Production companies	United Artists Nichols Film Company
Distributed by	MGM/UA Distribution Co.
Release date	March 8, 1996 (1996-03-08)
Running time	117 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$31 million[1]
Box office	$185.3 million[2]

The Birdcage is a 1996 American comedy film produced and directed by Mike Nichols. Elaine May's screenplay adapted the 1978 French film La Cage aux Folles, itself an adaptation of a 1973 play. It stars Robin Williams and Nathan Lane as a gay couple whose son (Dan Futterman) is set to marry the daughter (Calista Flockhart) of a conservative senator (Gene Hackman) and his wife (Dianne Wiest). Hank Azaria and Christine Baranski appear in supporting roles. The film marked the first screen collaboration of Nichols and May, who had been a comedy duo in the 1950s and 1960s.

The Birdcage was released on March 8, 1996, to positive reviews and significant commercial success. It debuted at the top of the North American box office and stayed there for the following three weeks, grossing $185.3 million on a $31 million budget. It is seen as groundbreaking because it was one of few films from a major studio to feature LGBT characters at its center. The cast received notable praise and was awarded the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast. The Birdcage also received a nomination for Best Art Direction at the 69th Academy Awards.