Editing Signs (film)

{{Short description|2002 film by M. Night Shyamalan}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Signs
| image          = The Signs movie.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[M. Night Shyamalan]]
| producer       = {{plainlist|
* [[Kathleen Kennedy (producer)|Kathleen Kennedy]]
* [[Frank Marshall (filmmaker)|Frank Marshall]]
* M. Night Shyamalan
* [[Sam Mercer]]
}}
| writer         = M. Night Shyamalan
| starring       = {{plainlist|
* [[Mel Gibson]]
* [[Joaquin Phoenix]]
}}
| music          = [[James Newton Howard]]
| cinematography = [[Tak Fujimoto]]
| editing        = Barbara Tulliver
| studio         = {{plainlist|
* [[Touchstone Pictures]]
* [[Blinding Edge Pictures]]
* [[The Kennedy/Marshall Company]]
}}
| distributor    = [[Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures|Buena Vista Pictures Distribution]]
| released       = {{Film date|2002|8|2|United States}}
| runtime        = 106 minutes<ref name="tomatoes"/><ref name="numbers">{{cite web|url=https://the-numbers.com/movie/Signs#tab=summary|title=Signs (2002) - Financial Information|work=The Numbers|access-date=August 23, 2017|archive-date=March 16, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230316230812/https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Signs#tab=summary|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://empireonline.com/movies/signs/review/|title=Signs Review|last=Kennedy|first=Colin|work=Empire|date=December 9, 2015|access-date=August 23, 2017|archive-date=August 24, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170824030251/http://www.empireonline.com/movies/signs/review/|url-status=live}}</ref>
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $72 million<ref name="BoxOfficeMojo">{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1685161473/ |title=Signs (2002) |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |access-date=2011-02-01 |archive-date=July 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190714173156/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=signs.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
| gross          = $408.2 million<ref name="BoxOfficeMojo" />
}}

'''''Signs''''' is a 2002 American [[science fiction film|science fiction]] [[horror thriller film]] written and directed by [[M. Night Shyamalan]] and produced by Shyamalan, [[Frank Marshall (filmmaker)|Frank Marshall]], [[Kathleen Kennedy (producer)|Kathleen Kennedy]] and [[Sam Mercer]]. The film was produced by [[Blinding Edge Pictures]] and [[The Kennedy/Marshall Company]]. It was distributed by [[Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures|Buena Vista Pictures]] through the [[Touchstone Pictures]] label theatrically, and by [[Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment|Touchstone Home Entertainment]] in home media format. Starring [[Mel Gibson]] and [[Joaquin Phoenix]], the story focuses on a former [[Episcopal priest#Anglican or Episcopalian|Episcopal priest]] named Graham Hess who discovers a series of [[crop circle]]s in his cornfield and that the phenomenon is a result of [[extraterrestrial life]]. ''Signs'' explores the themes of faith, kinship, and extraterrestrials.<ref name="Film">[[M. Night Shyamalan|Shyamalan, M. Night]] (Director). (2002). ''Signs'' [Motion picture]. United States: [[Touchstone Pictures]].</ref>

''Signs'' premiered in theaters on August 2, 2002. The film was a financial success, grossing $408 million on a $72 million budget, becoming [[2002 in film|the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2002]], and was met with positive reviews from critics, with many praising its atmosphere, cinematography, score and story, but others criticizing aspects of the script. The film was nominated for multiple awards, including those from the [[Online Film Critics Society]] and the [[8th Empire Awards|Empire Awards]]. The film also won an award from the [[American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers]]. The high definition [[Blu-ray]] Disc edition of the film featuring the director's audio commentary, the making of the film and deleted scenes was released in the United States on June 3, 2008. The original motion picture soundtrack, which was composed by [[James Newton Howard]], was released on the opening day by the [[Hollywood Records]] label.

==Plot==
<!-- Per WP:FILMPLOT, plot summaries for feature films should be between 400 to 700 words. -->
Former [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal]] priest Graham Hess lives on a [[rural]] farm in [[Doylestown, Pennsylvania]], with his [[asthma]]tic preteen son, Morgan, and young daughter, Bo. Graham's younger brother Merrill, a failed minor league baseball player, has been helping the family since Graham's wife Colleen died in a traffic collision six months earlier. Graham abandoned the church in the aftermath of the incident.

When large [[crop circle]]s appear in the Hess' cornfield, they are initially attributed to vandals. However, other crop circles, and lights from invisible objects hovering over many of Earth's cities, begin appearing globally. One night, Graham and Merrill chase a figure into the field. Over the next several days, Graham glimpses another among the corn stalks, followed by strange clicking noises broadcast through Bo's old [[baby monitor]]. To the family's continued terror, news footage emerges out of Brazil showing, undeniably at that point, an alien that can blend into its surroundings.

After receiving a phone call from Ray Reddy, the man responsible for his wife's death, Graham travels to Reddy’s home, finding him sitting in his car outside. Expressing remorse for Colleen's death, he warns Graham that one of the aliens is locked inside his pantry. Believing the aliens avoid water, he leaves for a lakeside. Graham enters the house and uses a kitchen knife to peer under the pantry door. A clawed hand emerges and swipes at Graham; he cuts off the fingers in a panic.

As the aliens’ worldwide invasion begins, the family barricades themselves inside their house, taking shelter in the basement when the aliens break in. Morgan has an asthma attack and the family doesn't have his medication, but he survives the night. The family emerges the next morning after the radio reports the aliens have abruptly abandoned Earth as if something scared them off.

The alien previously trapped inside Reddy's pantry enters the house and takes Morgan hostage. Recalling Colleen's dying words, Graham tells Merrill to "swing away" using his [[baseball bat]]. The alien sprays Morgan with toxic gas from its wrist. Graham recovers his stricken son as Merrill engages the creature, discovering during the fight that water is toxic to the aliens. Merrill gradually weakens the alien by smashing several glasses of water, left by Bo throughout the house, at the creature, eventually killing it with a strike to the head that spills water from a glass on the creature’s face. Outside, Graham administers Morgan's medication, realizing that his son's constricted lungs prevented him from inhaling the toxins; an act that Graham attributes to the [[Divine_intervention|intervention]] from a [[God|higher power]].

Months later, the Hess family has recovered from the ordeal and Graham returns to the church.

==Cast==
{{Multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=300
| image1 = Mel_Gibson_Cannes_2016_2.jpg
| image2 = Joaquin_Phoenix_in_2018.jpg
| footer = [[Mel Gibson]] (left) and [[Joaquin Phoenix]], who play the lead roles in the film
}}
* [[Mel Gibson]] as Father Graham Hess, a farmer and former [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopal]]<ref>{{Cite news |date=2002-08-24 |author=Ted Parks |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-aug-24-me-signs24-story.html |title='Signs' Offers Plenty to Think About |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=2020-01-16 |archive-date=May 31, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220531124912/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-aug-24-me-signs24-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aLgprgU7x-sC&q=signs+2002+movie+mel+gibson+%22Episcopal%22&pg=PA12|title=The Blackwell Guide to Theology and Popular Culture|last=Cobb|first=Kelton|date=2008-04-15|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-470-77770-1|language=en|access-date=November 21, 2020}}</ref> priest. His wife Colleen died six months prior. He is Merrill's older brother and father to son Morgan and daughter Bo.
* [[Joaquin Phoenix]] as Merrill Hess, Graham's younger brother; Colleen's brother-in-law; and the uncle of Morgan and Bo. He has been living with the family since Colleen's death; he is a former minor league baseball player.
* [[Cherry Jones]] as Caroline Paski, a local police officer and friend of the Hess family.
* [[Rory Culkin]] as Morgan Hess, the son of Graham and Colleen Hess; older brother to sister Bo; and nephew to Merrill.
* [[Abigail Breslin]] as Bo Hess, the daughter of Graham and Colleen Hess; Morgan's younger sister; and niece to Merrill; she is the youngest of the Hess family.
* [[Patricia Kalember]] as Colleen Hess, Graham's deceased wife; mother of Morgan and Bo; and Merrill's sister-in-law; she is seen only in Graham's [[Flashback (narrative)|flashbacks]].
* [[M. Night Shyamalan]], the film's producer, writer and director as Ray Reddy, a veterinarian; he is responsible for Colleen's accidental death, for which he feels deeply remorseful.
* [[Ted Sutton]] as SFC Cunningham, an Army recruiter Merrill speaks to.
* [[Merritt Wever]] as Tracey Abernathy, a pharmacist who makes confession to a discomforted Graham.
* [[Lanny Flaherty]] as Carl Nathan, the crotchety owner of the bookstore in town.
* [[Marion McCorry]] as Mrs. Nathan, Carl Nathan’s wife.
* [[Michael Showalter]] as Lionel Prichard, a local troublemaker.
* [[Clifford David]] as a Columbia University professor viewed on television.

==Production==
{{Anchor|Casting}}
M. Night Shyamalan was a fan of the film ''[[You Can Count on Me]]'' and cast Rory Culkin and [[Mark Ruffalo]]. Ruffalo required surgery for a tumor behind his ear and was unable to work on the film, so a week before filming the role was recast with Joaquin Phoenix.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=2002-04-19 |author1=<!-- EW Staff --> |title=Signs |url=https://ew.com/article/2002/04/19/signs/ |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |access-date=October 4, 2021 |archive-date=August 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240829061012/https://ew.com/article/2002/04/19/signs/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=August 31, 2001 |title=Actor Ruffalo Signs-Off |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/08/31/actor-ruffalo-signs-off |website=IGN |access-date=January 10, 2023 |archive-date=August 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240829061012/https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/08/31/actor-ruffalo-signs-off |url-status=live }}</ref> The role of Graham was originally written to be an older man. Shyamalan approached [[Paul Newman]] for the role, but he declined due to lack of interest, and he also approached [[Clint Eastwood]], who declined due to scheduling conflicts.<ref>{{cite web |date=July 30, 2001 |title=More on M Night Shyamalan and an UNBREAKABLE 2 |url=https://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/9728 |website=Ain’t It Cool News |access-date=January 10, 2023 |archive-date=August 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240829061014/http://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/9728 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Shyamalan has said that the film's concept is the combination of two ideas – a family finding a crop circle on their property, and an "end of the world" premise.<ref>{{cite web |last=Greiving |first=Tim |date=July 30, 2020 |title=M. Night Shyamalan Talks 'Signs,' Twists, and Crop-Circle Tattoos |url=https://www.theringer.com/movies/2020/7/30/21348462/m-night-shyamalan-signs-unbreakable-the-sixth-sense-interview |website=The Ringer |access-date=January 10, 2023 |archive-date=December 8, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201208212041/https://www.theringer.com/movies/2020/7/30/21348462/m-night-shyamalan-signs-unbreakable-the-sixth-sense-interview |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{Anchor|Filming}}
''Signs'' was filmed in 2001.<ref>{{cite web |last=Elijah |first=Andy |date=July 17, 2018 |title=''Signs'' was the re-assuring escapism we needed after 9/11 |url=https://cinedelphia.com/signs-was-the-re-assuring-escapism-we-needed-after-9-11/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180805112809/http://cinedelphia.com/signs-was-the-re-assuring-escapism-we-needed-after-9-11/ |archive-date=August 5, 2018 |access-date=August 5, 2018 |website=cinedelphia.com}}</ref> All scenes shot on location were filmed in [[Bucks County, Pennsylvania]]. The scenes of the house and cornfield were shot inside the campus of [[Delaware Valley College|Delaware Valley University]], an agricultural college, where they had {{convert|40|acres}} of land to use. The scenes in the bookstore and the pizza shop were filmed in [[Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania|Newtown, Pennsylvania]], and the pharmacy scene was shot in [[Morrisville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania|Morrisville, Pennsylvania]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.visitbuckscounty.com/press-room/film-office/|title=Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Film Office|website=www.visitbuckscounty.com|language=en-us|access-date=September 23, 2017|archive-date=September 14, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170914092100/http://www.visitbuckscounty.com/press-room/film-office/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Soundtrack==
All music was composed by James Newton Howard.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/20063/10-of-the-most-underrated-horror-scores/|title=10 of the Most Underrated Horror Scores!|last=Bloody Disgusting Staff|date=May 3, 2010|website=[[Bloody Disgusting]]|access-date=March 26, 2019|archive-date=March 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326004043/https://bloody-disgusting.com/news/20063/10-of-the-most-underrated-horror-scores/|url-status=live}}</ref> The score was conducted by Pete Anthony and performed by the [[Hollywood Studio Symphony]].

{{Infobox album
| name       = Signs
| type       = film
| artist     = [[James Newton Howard]]
| cover      = 
| caption    = 
| alt        = 
| released   = {{Start date|2002|07|30}}
| recorded   = Todd Scoring Stage <small>([[Studio City, Los Angeles]])</small><br />JHN Studios <small>([[Santa Monica, California]])</small>
| venue      = 
| studio     = 
| genre      = [[Orchestra]]l
| length     = {{Duration|m=45|s=34}}
| label      = [[Hollywood Records|Hollywood]]
| producer   = [[James Newton Howard]], Thomas Drescher, Tom Drescher
| prev_title = 
| prev_year  = 
| next_title = 
| next_year  = 
}}
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name=AllMusic>{{AllMusic |class=album |id=r600109 |tab=review |label=James Newton Howard: Signs [Original Motion Picture Score] |first=William |last=Ruhlmann |access-date=1 March 2012}}</ref>
| rev2 = [http://www.filmtracks.com/titles/signs.html Filmtracks]
| rev2Score = {{Rating|3|5}}
| rev3 = [http://www.soundtrack.net/albums/database/?id=3085 SoundtrackNet]
| rev3score = {{Rating|4|5}}
}}

===Track listing===
{{Track listing
| total_length    = {{Duration|m=45|s=34}}
| title1          = Main Titles
| length1         = 1:45
| title2          = First Crop Circles
| length2         = 3:15
| title3          = Roof Intruder
| length3         = 2:20
| title4          = Brazilian Video
| length4         = 1:56
| title5          = In the Cornfield
| length5         = 5:40
| title6          = Baby Monitor
| length6         = 1:07
| title7          = Recruiting Office
| length7         = 2:07
| title8          = Throwing a Stone
| length8         = 5:47
| title9          = Boarding Up the House
| length9         = 3:00
| title10         = Into the Basement
| length10        = 5:23
| title11         = Asthma Attack
| length11        = 3:42
| title12         = The Hand of Fate (Part 1)
| length12        = 5:32
| title13         = The Hand of Fate (Part 2)
| length13        = 3:47
}}

===Critical reception for soundtrack===
The soundtrack generally received positive reviews. William Ruhlmann of [[Allmusic]] stated in his review that: <blockquote>With ''Signs'', composer James Newton Howard again joins director M. Night Shyamalan for their third collaboration following ''[[The Sixth Sense]]'' and ''[[Unbreakable (film)|Unbreakable]]'', and clearly the film presents another thrilling encounter with the supernatural. From his opening "Main Theme," Howard ratchets up the tension, and his music thereafter alternates only between the ominous and the suspenseful. He overloads his lower tones, employing eight basses, five percussionists, and even a tuba, but also uses a large string section for short, fast, repetitive figures meant to keep viewers on the edges of their seats. This is not particularly imaginative music, just good old Saturday afternoon scary movie fare, the only distinguishing characteristic about it – consistent with Shyamalan's style – that it is so relentless. There's just no let up; dread pervades every moment of the director's films, to the point of emotional exhaustion for some, and the score has to have the same uncompromising approach, which can make it a little hard to take when listened to all the way through.<ref name=AllMusic/> </blockquote>

==Reception==
===Critical response===
<!-- NOTE: when updating Rotten Tomatoes or Metacritic ratings, you should also update the "access-date" field within the citation tags to reflect the date on which you have updated them. -->
On [[Rotten Tomatoes]] the film has an approval rating of 76% based on reviews from 241 critics, with an average rating of 6.80/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "With ''Signs'', Shyamalan proves once again an expert at building suspense and giving audiences the chills."<ref name="tomatoes">{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/signs |title=Signs (2002) |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |publisher=[[Fandango Media|Fandango]] |access-date=March 6, 2025 |archive-date=August 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240829062413/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/signs |url-status=live }}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film scored 59 out of 100 based on 36 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://metacritic.com/movie/signs |title=Signs Reviews |website=[[Metacritic]] |publisher=[[CBS Interactive]] |access-date=May 5, 2020 |archive-date=September 11, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200911232704/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/signs |url-status=live }}</ref> Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.<ref name="CinemaScore">{{cite web |url=https://www.cinemascore.com/ |title=SIGNS (2002) B |work= [[CinemaScore]] |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181220122629/https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |archive-date= 2018-12-20 }}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] gave the film four out of four stars, writing: "M. Night Shyamalan's ''Signs'' is the work of a born filmmaker, able to summon apprehension out of thin air. When it is over, we think not how little has been decided, but how much has been experienced ... At the end of the film, I had to smile, recognizing how Shyamalan has essentially ditched a payoff. He knows, as we all sense, that payoffs have grown boring."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20020802/REVIEWS/208020305/1023|title=Signs Movie Review & Film Summary (2002)|last=Ebert|first=Roger|date=August 2, 2002|work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|access-date=February 21, 2011|archive-date=June 6, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606155241/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20020802%2FREVIEWS%2F208020305%2F1023|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Geoff Pevere]] of [[Toronto Star|The Toronto Star]] gave the film a scoring of three out of five stars, saying "Ultimately, ''Signs'' -- as original, interesting and ambitious as it is -- is a post-[[September 11 attacks|9/11]] movie of possibly the most dubious sort."<ref>{{cite news |last=Pevere |first=Geoff |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-toronto-star-signs-portents-and-ali/156452676/ |title=Signs, portents and alien invaders |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241003045221/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-toronto-star-signs-portents-and-ali/156452676/ |date=August 2, 2002 |access-date=October 3, 2024 |archive-date=October 3, 2024 |page=48 |publisher=[[Toronto Star|The Toronto Star]] |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |url-status=live}} {{Open access}}</ref> [[Nell Minow]] of [[Common Sense Media]] gave the film four out of five stars; she praised the casting and Shyamalan's direction, saying his "only flaw was not leaving anything to the audience's imagination".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/signs?hash=1340488598#csm-user-review-display|title=Signs - Movie Review|last=Minow|first=Nell|date=May 18, 2003|website=[[Common Sense Media]]|access-date=November 15, 2012|archive-date=August 29, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240829061014/http://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/signs?hash=1340488598#csm-user-review-display|url-status=live}}</ref>

Mick LaSalle of the ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]'' gave the film one star out of four, thinking that the film had "few thoughts and no thrills."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Signs-of-distress-Shyamalan-s-puzzling-plot-2788009.php|title='Signs' of distress / Shyamalan's puzzling plot circles go flat quickly|last=Lasalle|first=Mick|date=August 2, 2002|work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|access-date=March 26, 2019|archive-date=March 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327102407/https://www.sfgate.com/movies/article/Signs-of-distress-Shyamalan-s-puzzling-plot-2788009.php|url-status=live}}</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]''{{'}}s [[Todd McCarthy]] criticized the film for its lack of originality, writing: "After the overwrought ''[[Unbreakable (film)|Unbreakable]]'' and now the meager ''Signs'', it's fair to speculate whether Shyamalan's persistence in replicating the otherworldly formula of ''[[The Sixth Sense]]'' might not be a futile and self-defeating exercise."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://variety.com/2002/film/reviews/signs-2-1200547091/|title=Signs Movie Review|last=McCarthy|first=Todd|date=July 29, 2002|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|access-date=February 21, 2011|archive-date=August 29, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240829061135/https://variety.com/2002/film/reviews/signs-2-1200547091/|url-status=live}}</ref> A.O. Scott of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote that "Mr. Shyamalan is undone by his pretensions" and that the theme of paternal grief "is articulated here with a heavy-handed, incoherent sentimentality that smothers real emotion." On the theme of faith, he concludes: "Mr. Shyamalan never gives us anything to believe in, other than his own power to solve problems of his own posing, and his command of a narrative logic is as circular – and as empty – as those bare patches out in the cornfield."<ref name="Scott">{{Cite news |last=Scott |first=A. O. |author-link=A.O. Scott |date=2002-08-02 |title=FILM REVIEW; Finding Faith, or Something, in a Cornfield (Published 2002) |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |work=|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/02/movies/film-review-finding-faith-or-something-in-a-cornfield.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180128104943/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/02/movies/film-review-finding-faith-or-something-in-a-cornfield.html |archive-date=2018-01-28 |access-date=2021-09-10 |issn=0362-4331 }}</ref>

In 2004, the Brazilian birthday party scene was ranked at No. 77 on [[Bravo (American TV network)|Bravo]]'s ''[[The 100 Scariest Movie Moments]].''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e0dYp2cdzyk|title=100 Scariest Movie Moments No. 77: Signs|website=[[YouTube]] |date = 8 March 2011|access-date=July 30, 2022}}</ref>

In a 2007 interview, [[Bong Joon-ho]] cited the film as an inspiration for his 2006 monster film [[The Host (2006 film)|''The Host'']]. He added: "Even though it deals with the alien invasion rather than creatures, I liked the fact that the film focused on the Mel Gibson‘s family not on the aliens."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Indiewire |date=2007-03-13 |title=indieWIRE INTERVIEW: “The Host” director Bong Joon-ho |url=https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/indiewire-interview-the-host-director-bong-joon-ho-74982/ |access-date=2025-02-15 |website=IndieWire |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Box office===
''Signs'' grossed $60,117,080 from 3,264 theaters in its opening weekend.<ref>{{cite web|last=Linder|first=Brian|title=Weekend Box Office: All Signs Point to Yes|url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/08/05/weekend-box-office-all-signs-point-to-yes|publisher=IGN|access-date=May 15, 2023|date=August 5, 2002|archive-date=May 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230515223328/https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/08/05/weekend-box-office-all-signs-point-to-yes|url-status=live}}</ref> At the time of its release, the film had the second-highest August opening weekend, behind ''[[Rush Hour 2]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title='Signs' dominates US box office |url=https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2002/08/04/Signs-dominates-US-box-office/67231028491816/ |access-date=26 April 2022 |work=[[United Press International]] |date=4 August 2002 |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426200045/https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2002/08/04/Signs-dominates-US-box-office/67231028491816/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It was the biggest opening weekend of Mel Gibson's career, surpassing ''[[Ransom (1996 film)|Ransom]]'', and earned more than Disney's previous best for a live-action non-sequel, not based on existing popular source material, held by ''[[Pearl Harbor (film)|Pearl Harbor]]''.<ref>{{cite web |date=August 5, 2002 |author=Ray Subers |title=America Sees 'Signs' in Record Numbers |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/article/ed678691844/ |website=Box Office Mojo |quote=played equally well among genders and was "consistent from 10 to 60" among the ages of moviegoers }}</ref> The film went on to gross $227,966,634 domestically and $180,281,283 internationally, for a total of $408,247,917 worldwide.<ref name=BoxOfficeMojo /> It ranked only behind ''The Sixth Sense'' in Shyamalan's box office success and grossing more than ''[[The Village (2004 film)|The Village]]'' and ''[[Split (2016 American film)|Split]]''.

===Home media===
''Signs'' was released on [[VHS]] and [[DVD]] on January 7, 2003.<ref name="numbers" />

The DVD release includes some [[deleted scene]]s:
* ''Flashbacks 1 and 2'': Two scenes with Graham's wife, Colleen. In the first, she sits with a toddler Morgan and baby Bo in a rocking chair while Graham watches. In the second, she dances with him. She hums the same tune in both scenes.
* ''The dead bird'': With no sound, this scene shows Graham going back home from Ray's, and after a short time, a dead bird near the road (after supposedly hitting an invisible forcefield) is shown.
* ''The attic door and the third story'': The longest deleted scene, it starts with Merrill finding out about the not-boarded attic door. Despite Graham's efforts to call him back, Merrill goes up the stairs and manages to hold the door by climbing up a chair and putting his hands at the door. Trying to help, Graham looks for a way to hold the door. He gets a tall shelf and places it under the door. Knowing this is only a temporary solution, Graham gets his family and takes them to the kitchen and puts some chairs at the door to hold the aliens out of the room. There, he tells the "third story", about Merrill, in which he dislocated his arm. While Graham is telling the story, the shelf is destroyed from the attic door slamming on top of it repeatedly and the aliens gain access to the house. Everyone goes down to the basement, the only safe room available, as the aliens begin forcing the kitchen door open.

In addition to being a [[THX]] certified release, the DVD also featured a documentary and storyboards.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.thedigitalbits.com/reviews2/signsvistaseries.html|title=Signs: Vista Series |website=The Digital Bits }}</ref> It was the second top DVD [[video rental]] in the United States during the first quarter of 2003, earning {{US$|34,700,000|long=no|2003|round=-6}} in US DVD rental revenue by March 2003.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Kipnis |first1=Jill |title=Home Video: Rental Spending Up 8% In Q1 |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |date=26 April 2003 |volume=115 |issue=17 |page=44 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jQ0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA44 |publisher=[[Nielsen Business Media, Inc.]] |issn=0006-2510 |access-date=November 26, 2021 |archive-date=August 29, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240829061543/https://books.google.com/books?id=jQ0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA44#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live }}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Film}}
* [[List of films featuring extraterrestrials]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote|Signs (film)}}
* {{IMDb title|0286106|Signs}}
* {{TCMDb title|id=434174}}
* {{AFI film|62558}}

{{M. Night Shyamalan}}
{{Blinding Edge Pictures}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Signs}}
[[Category:2000s American films]]
[[Category:2000s English-language films]]
[[Category:2000s horror thriller films]]
[[Category:2000s psychological horror films]]
[[Category:2000s monster movies]]
[[Category:2000s science fiction horror films]]
[[Category:2000s science fiction thriller films]]
[[Category:2002 films]]
[[Category:2002 science fiction films]]
[[Category:2002 psychological thriller films]]
[[Category:American horror thriller films]]
[[Category:American psychological horror films]]
[[Category:American psychological thriller films]]
[[Category:American monster movies]]
[[Category:American religious horror films]]
[[Category:American science fiction horror films]]
[[Category:American science fiction thriller films]]
[[Category:Religious thriller films]]
[[Category:Blinding Edge Pictures films]]
[[Category:English-language horror thriller films]]
[[Category:English-language science fiction horror films]]
[[Category:English-language science fiction thriller films]]
[[Category:Films about alien invasions]]
[[Category:Films about asthma]]
[[Category:Films about extraterrestrial life]]
[[Category:Films about families]]
[[Category:Films about widowhood in the United States]]
[[Category:Films directed by M. Night Shyamalan]]
[[Category:Films produced by Frank Marshall]]
[[Category:Films produced by M. Night Shyamalan]]
[[Category:Films produced by Sam Mercer]]
[[Category:Films scored by James Newton Howard]]
[[Category:Films set in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Films set on farms]]
[[Category:Films shot in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by M. Night Shyamalan]]
[[Category:The Kennedy/Marshall Company films]]
[[Category:Touchstone Pictures films]]