Zombieland (2009)

Zombieland is a 2009 American post-apocalyptic zombie comedy film directed by Ruben Fleischer, in his directorial debut, and written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. It stars Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigail Breslin and Bill Murray. In the film, four survivors of a zombie apocalypse, Tallahassee (Harrelson), Columbus (Eisenberg), Wichita (Stone) and Little Rock (Breslin) make their way on an extended cross-country road trip to find a sanctuary free from a virus that turns people into zombies.

Development for Zombieland began in 2005, when Reese and Wernick originally wrote the film as a spec script for a television pilot. Fleischer helped develop the teleplay into a screenplay for a self-contained feature. Tony Gardner was hired as the film's special effects makeup designer, which primarily features physical prosthetics to create the look of the zombies. Principal photography for the film began in February 2009 and lasted until that March, with filming locations including Hollywood, Atlanta and in and around Georgia. Some of the film's scenes contained improvisation by the actors.

Zombieland premiered at Fantastic Fest on September 25, 2009, and was theatrically released in the United States on October 2, by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film received positive critical reception, with praise for its screenplay, dialogue, comedy, and cast performances. It grossed $102 million worldwide, becoming the tenth-highest grossing zombie film in the U.S. until the release of World War Z (2013), and $54 million in home sales. A sequel, Zombieland: Double Tap, was released in October 2019.