Open a newspaper on Christmas morning in 1998 and the movie pages were full of heartwarming fare. Tucked in among them was a sci-fi thriller about high school teachers who had been taken over by alien parasites. It was a strange gift for the holidays, and the numbers show that audiences mostly passed.

That film was The Faculty, and it is a perfect example of a movie that lost its first round and won the long game. It is now a cult favorite streaming on Paramount+, and a lot of folks who missed it the first time around are catching up.

A $15 Million Gamble Opened On Christmas Day And Landed At No. 5

The film was released by Miramax on December 25, 1998, with a production budget of $15 million, according to The Numbers. It opened on 2,365 screens and took in about $11.6 million over its first weekend, good enough for fifth place.

By the time it wrapped up its run, the movie had earned about $40.3 million in the United States. That is more than double its budget, yet it was widely treated as a disappointment because a film with this much star power and studio muscle was expected to do far better.

One reason is the calendar. Christmas Day tends to favor family dramas and feel-good movies, and a story about teachers sprouting tentacles was an awkward fit for that crowd.

The Script Sat On A Shelf Until Scream Made Aliens In High School Cool Again

The story behind the movie is almost as interesting as the movie itself. David Wechter and Bruce Kimmel wrote the first draft back in 1990, and no studio wanted it. Then Scream became a smash in 1996, and teen thrillers with a wink suddenly looked like gold.

Miramax bought the script and moved fast. Bob and Harvey Weinstein brought in Kevin Williamson, the writer behind Scream, to rewrite it. He kept the basic idea but reworked the dialogue and added characters to make the whole thing feel hipper.

Williamson had been set to direct, but he stepped aside to make his own film, Teaching Mrs. Tingle. The producers then turned to Robert Rodriguez, who directed and edited the picture.

Elijah Wood, Josh Hartnett And Usher Walk Into A Texas Classroom

The cast is a time capsule of late-nineties talent. Elijah Wood plays Casey, a photographer for the school paper. Jordana Brewster, in her first film, plays Delilah. Clea DuVall plays Stokely, and Laura Harris plays Marybeth, the new girl in school.

Josh Hartnett is Zeke, a repeat senior with a cool streak. Shawn Hatosy plays Stan, and Usher plays Gabe. The grown-ups are no slouches either: Famke Janssen, Piper Laurie and Bebe Neuwirth play teachers and staff, Robert Patrick is Coach Willis, and Jon Stewart plays Mr. Furlong. Salma Hayek turns up as the school nurse.

The story is set at Herrington High School in Ohio, but cameras actually rolled in Texas, in Austin, San Marcos, Dallas and Lockhart. Clea DuVall has recalled that most of the shoots happened at night, which made the production feel like its own strange little world.

Teachers Act Strange, A Creature Turns Up On The Football Field, And Nobody Believes The Kids

The plot works like a mashup of classic invasion stories. After a staff meeting, the principal is attacked and the teachers begin to behave oddly. Casey finds a creature on the football field, and Mr. Furlong identifies it as a parasite.

A small group of students figures out that something alien is taking over the adults. Zeke helps them test a theory, and they learn the parasites need water and can be dehydrated by raw caffeine. That bit of science gives the film its goofy, memorable turning point.

The twist at the end is that the alien queen is not who the kids expect. It is the newcomer, Marybeth, who reveals that she is taking over Earth because her home planet is dying. Casey finishes her off in the locker room, and a month later life returns to normal, though the FBI insists nothing ever happened.

A Soundtrack Full Of Covers And A Score By The Man Behind Scream

Marco Beltrami, who had already scored Scream and Mimic, wrote the music. The soundtrack album added alternative and indie rock, including covers of songs by Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper and Oasis, along with original tracks from bands such as Garbage, Sheryl Crow and The Offspring.

If you were a teenager in 1998, that list probably makes you smile. If you were a parent of one, you may remember the music pouring out of a bedroom down the hall.

How A Box Office Letdown Became A Cult Favorite On Paramount+

Critics at the time were split. The movie holds a 57% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 61 reviews, and audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it a B. Some reviewers praised the self-aware script and the in-jokes, while others called it a copy of older sci-fi thrillers.

Over the years, though, fans kept talking about it. Rodriguez has said he was surprised by how enthusiastically people discuss the film now. Scholars have read the alien takeover as a metaphor for teenage cliques and the fear of losing your individuality to the crowd.

The film landed on Paramount+ on March 4, 2021, as a launch title, and it also streams on Pluto TV. Director Ryan Coogler has cited it as an inspiration for Sinners, and in January 2025 a remake was reported, with Drew Hancock writing and Rodriguez producing.

Worth Knowing Before You Press Play

If you want to revisit it, here are a few tips that will make the movie more fun.

• Check the numbers in context. The $40.3 million figure is the United States gross. Worldwide, the film brought in about $63.2 million against that $15 million budget.
• Look for the deleted character. Kidada Jones played a student named Venus whose scenes were cut, though she can still be spotted standing beside Gabe in Mr. Furlong’s class.
• Pick your format. Beyond streaming, the film has been released on Blu-ray several times, including a Paramount edition in 2020 and a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray in December 2024.
• Make it a double feature. Pair it with Scream to see the same writer at work in two very different flavors of nineties horror.

The lesson of The Faculty is an old one in Hollywood. A film that looks like a letdown on opening weekend can find its audience years later, and sometimes the best seat for it is the couch at home.

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