Skip to content
MovieCove
Jim Abrahams

Jim Abrahams

Writer, director, producer and actor · Died November 26, 2024, aged 80 · Shorewood, Wisconsin, USA

Jim Abrahams (May 10, 1944 – November 26, 2024) was an American movie director and writer. Abrahams was born in Shorewood, Wisconsin, to a Jewish family, and attended Shorewood High School. He was known for the spoof movies that he co-wrote and produced with brothers Jerry Zucker and David Zucker, such as Airplane! (for which he was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay) and The Naked Gun series. The team of Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker (also referred to as "ZAZ") really began when the three men grew up together in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Abrahams later produced movies on his own such as Big Business, and further honed his skills in parody with Hot Shots! and its 1993 sequel Hot Shots! Part Deux.

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

Born
May 10, 1944
Died
November 26, 2024 (aged 80)
From
Shorewood, Wisconsin, USA
Works as
Writer, director, producer and actor
Titles
20 on MovieCove · 24 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 64 days to Oct 27Down 35% in 30 days

What are Jim Abrahams' films like?

Across their 14 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Morality.

Genres

Comedy10 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 62nd percentile
: browse their Comedy movies
Action2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 68th percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Action movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
35%
Morality
26%
Self
17%
Power
8%
Ideas
8%
Survival
4%
Society
1%
Romantic love6 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds4 titles, browse their movies with this themeRedemption2 titles, browse their movies with this themeDeception2 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity2 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this themeBetrayal2 titles, browse their movies with this themeClass2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 14 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Wry: How sincerely it treats its story and characters, from ironic to earnest. Browse their wry movies.
Tone · Sincerity
ironicearnest

A split, not a type: Ironic 10 · Wry 0 · Earnest 4

Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 12 · Serious 1 · Dark 1

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 4 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 8

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 4 · Charged 7 · Intense 3

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 6 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 2

Funny: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their funny movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 2 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 11

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

A split, not a type: Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 7

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 9 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 1

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 14 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Absurd
11
Joyful
8
Manic
4
Thrilling
5
Tense
2
Other
10

How their films linger

Fun11 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFeel-good11 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful3 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 6 with a twist

  • Happy11
  • Bittersweet1
  • Ambiguous2

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Jim Abrahams' films?

As of October 24, 2026, 16 of their 20 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Jim Abrahams' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

24 credits, 20 with a MovieCove page; 3 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • The Naked Gun(2025)

    Original Film Writer

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty(2022)

    Show 1 episode · as Jim Abrahams

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows

  • Scary Movie 4(2006)

    Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films

  • Mafia!(1998)

    Director · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 31st percentile of all films

  • ...First Do No Harm(1997)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films

  • Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult(1994)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • An Introduction to the Ketogenic Diet (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1994)

    Director

  • Hot Shots! Part Deux(1993)

    Director · Characters · Screenplay

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • Hearts of Hot Shots! Part Deux—A Filmmaker's Apology (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)

    Actor

  • Brain Donors(1992)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • Hot Shots!(1991)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films

  • The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear(1991)

    Executive Producer · Original Series Creator

    Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films

  • Oscar(1991)

    as Postman (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 66th percentile of all films

  • Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael(1990)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films

  • Cry-Baby(1990)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 64th percentile of all films

  • The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!(1988)

    Executive Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films

  • Coming to America(1988)

    as Face on Cutting Room Floor

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • Big Business(1988)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • Ruthless People(1986)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Top Secret!(1984)

    Director · Executive Producer · Screenplay · as German Soldier in Prop Room (uncredited)

    Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films

  • Police Squad! (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1982)

    Show 6 episodes · Director · Creator · Producer · Writer

  • Airplane!(1980)

    Director · Executive Producer · Writer · as Religious Zealot #6

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • The Kentucky Fried Movie(1977)

    Writer · as Various

    Midcredits score: 58th percentile of all films

  • Big John, Little John (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1976)

    Show 1 episode · Writer

Career shape

A full career of 24 titles from 1976 to 2025.

Biggest box office

Hot Shots! (1991)

$181M worldwide

Highest rated

Airplane! (1980)

Midcredits 95th

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting7 of 24: 4 only acting, 3 with another role · typical Midcredits score85thDirecting11 of 24: 4 only directing, 7 with another role · typical Midcredits score69thWriting12 of 24: 3 only writing, 9 with another role · typical Midcredits score68thProducing9 of 24: 3 only producing, 6 with another role · typical Midcredits score75thOther crew1 of 24: 0 only other crew, 1 with another role

24 titles, 10 with more than one role — writing and directing overlap on 6 of them.

By decade

1970s2 · 1 acting · 2 crew1980s7 · 3 acting · 6 crew1990s12 · 2 acting · 10 crew2000s1 · crew2020s2 · 1 acting · 1 crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Jim Abrahams' films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 66th percentile, the median of all 19; across their 14 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 68th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

68thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Approval · how many liked their films

66thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Reach · how many have seen their films

94thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 14

Midcredits score across 20 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up7
  • 50th to 74th10
  • 25th to 49th2
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

13 of their 20 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Crowd Pleaser13
  • Broadly Agreed1
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · producer

Brain Donors (1992)

54th percentile spread · 12% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · actor, director, writer, producer

Airplane! (1980)

Midcredits 95th · 84% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 66/100 and the plot and story 38/100 in their films, across 14 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Jim Abrahams' work okay for kids?

Across up to 11 MovieCove titles with content scores, sex & nudity runs heavier than most films and frightening / intense lighter.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore10 titles27–55 · median 35 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity11 titles35–68 · median 50 · moderateheavier than most filmsMedian of all films: 32
Profanity10 titles33–65 · median 43 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs9 titles26–44 · median 34 · mildnear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense9 titles8–27 · median 13 · minimallighter than most filmsMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Jim Abrahams work with?

People who share at least 2 of Jim Abrahams' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; David Zucker shares the most, 6.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Cinematographers and editors

Producers