Tombstone (released in theaters on Dec. 25, 1993) is an unabashedly entertaining western that blends mythic heroics with quotable swagger, anchored by a commanding Kurt Russell and a career-defining turn from Val Kilmer. It may not be the most historically precise take on Wyatt Earp, but as pure genre cinema, it’s gloriously alive.
The plot follows retired lawman Wyatt Earp (Russell) as he arrives in the booming town of Tombstone, Arizona, hoping to leave gunfights behind and build a fortune with his brothers Virgil (Sam Elliott) and Morgan (Bill Paxton). Wyatt wants a quiet life of business and gambling, not badges and bloodshed.
That hope dissolves when the ruthless outlaw gang known as the Cowboys—led by Powers Boothe’s charismatic, menacing Curly Bill and backed by Michael Biehn’s chillingly intense Johnny Ringo—tighten their grip on the town through violence and intimidation.
Wyatt’s old friend, the tubercular Southern gambler Doc Holliday (Kilmer), drifts into Tombstone, bringing loyalty, danger, and a morbid sense of humor.
As tensions escalate, Virgil and Morgan step up as lawmen, dragging Wyatt back into the role he hoped to escape.
The friction between duty and family runs alongside Wyatt’s complicated love life, with Dana Delany’s independent actress Josephine Marcus awakening desires at odds with his troubled marriage.
The narrative builds toward the legendary showdown at the O.K. Corral, then pushes beyond into a vengeful, near-mythic campaign against the Cowboys, with Wyatt and Doc forging their legend in gun smoke and grit.
Along the way, small but memorable appearances from Jason Priestley and Charlton Heston help flesh out a frontier teetering between civilization and chaos.
Russell’s Wyatt is flinty but human, a man pulled unwillingly toward heroism, while Elliott and Paxton give the Earp brothers warmth and vulnerability.
Boothe revels in villainy, and Biehn’s Ringo brings a dangerous, almost Shakespearean volatility.
Kilmer, though, walks away with the film: his Doc Holliday is sardonic, tragic, fiercely loyal, and endlessly magnetic—every line reading and staggered stride deepening the character’s legend.
Jon Tenney, Stephen Lang, Thomas Haden Church, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Joanna Pacula, Michael Rooker, Paul Ben-Victor, Robert John Burke, Billy Zane, Buck Taylor, Terry O’Quinn, Frank Stallone and Billy Bob Thornton round out the strong supporting cast.
Tombstone premiered in movie theaters six months before Lawrence Kasdan’s Wyatt Earp starring Kevin Costner and Dennis Quaid, which was released in the summer of 1994.
Val Kilmer in Tombstone (Photo/Hollywood Pictures)
Reception for Tombstone
Tombstone grossed $6.5 million on its opening weekend, finishing third at the box office behind The Pelican Brief ($11.1 million) and Mrs. Doubtfire ($9.4 million).
The film would gross $73.2 million worldwide.
Lasting Legacy
Tombstone has earned a cherished place among modern westerns, often cited as one of the genre’s most purely enjoyable entries of the last few decades.
Its memorable one-liners, vivid characterizations, and rousing set pieces have made it endlessly rewatchable, transforming the Earp–Holliday saga into pop-culture gospel.
Even as more revisionist westerns have emerged, Tombstone endures as the kind of big-hearted, crowd-pleasing oater that reminds audiences why the frontier myth still captivates.
