From portraying David Addison Jr. in the series Moonlighting to his sad illness-induced retirement just three years ago, Bruce Willis has been involved in many iconic projects. Although the controversial Christmas classic Die Hard and Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element are considered the favorite of many, perhaps no film is quite as beloved in Willis’ filmography as 1999’s The Sixth Sense.

26 years since it first dropped the jaws of audiences across the world with one of cinema’s most famous plot twists, M. Night Shyamalan‘s magnum opus is officially joining the ranks of HBO Max this October. Featuring a star-making performance from young Haley Joel Osment and one of the finest Toni Collette turns in a stellar career, The Sixth Sense is the quintessential example of how to craft the perfect plot twist without sacrificing quality in any other area of the film. Sporting an 86% rating from critics and 90% from audiences on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the movie is one of the highest-rated in Willis’ career, with the formidable Roger Ebert writing of the film at the time of its release:

“I have to admit I was blind-sided by the ending. The solution to many of the film’s puzzlements is right there in plain view, and the movie hasn’t cheated, but the very boldness of the storytelling carried me right past the crucial hints and right through to the end of the film, where everything takes on an intriguing new dimension.”

‘The Sixth Sense’ Is Still One of the Most Successful Thrillers of All Time

Such was the huge discourse surrounding The Sixth Sense‘s iconic twist ending, anyone who was anyone in August 1999 was down at their local theater, breathless as Cole revealed his secret to the world. This translated into huge box office success, as The Sixth Sense’s $40 million budget was turned into an eye-watering global total of $672.8 million. Split between $293.5 million in domestic revenue and a further $379.3 million from overseas markets, The Sixth Sense‘s entire haul is enough to still make it the fourth-highest-grossing thriller or suspense movie of all time globally. The film also finished 1999 as the second-highest-grossing movie worldwide.

The Sixth Sense is going to be streaming on HBO Max beginning October 1. Make sure to stay tuned to Collider to keep up to date with the latest streaming stories.

Release Date

August 6, 1999

Runtime

107 minutes