Death Race (2008)

Death Race is a 2008 dystopian science fiction action thriller film written and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, who produced the film alongside Paula Wagner and Jeremy Bolt. Produced by Relativity Media, Impact Pictures, and C/W Productions, it stars Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, Ian McShane, and Joan Allen. The film follows Jensen Ames, a factory worker framed for a murder he didn't commit, who is coerced into the Death Race, a three-day racing competition at Terminal Island Penitentiary, in an attempt to win his freedom.

Though referred to as a remake of the 1975 film Death Race 2000 (which in turn is based on Ib Melchior's short story "The Racer") in reviews and marketing materials, Anderson stated in the DVD commentary that he thought of the film as something of a prequel. A Death Race remake had been in development since 2002, though production was delayed by disapproval of early screenplays, then placed in turnaround following a dispute between Paramount Pictures and the producer duo Tom Cruise and Wagner (the latter of whom produced without Cruise in the film). Death Race was acquired by Universal Pictures, and Anderson re-joined the project to write and direct. Filming began in Montreal in August 2007.

Death Race was released in the United States on August 22, 2008, and in the United Kingdom on September 26, by Universal Pictures. It received mixed reviews from critics and was a financial disappointment, grossing $76 million on a budget of $45–65 million. Three direct-to-video films were released in the years that followed: Death Race 2 (2010), Death Race 3: Inferno (2013) and Death Race: Beyond Anarchy (2018).