Deep Impact is a 1998 American science fiction disaster film. directed by Mimi Leder, written by Bruce Joel Rubin and Michael Tolkin, and starring Robert Duvall, Téa Leoni, Elijah Wood, Vanessa Redgrave, Maximilian Schell, and Morgan Freeman. It was released by Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks in the United States on May 8, 1998. The plot describes the attempts to prepare for and destroy a 7-mile wide comet, which was to collide with the Earth and cause a mass extinction.
Notably, Deep Impact was released in the same summer as a similarly-themed rival, Armageddon. Although Deep Impact was perceived to have greater scientific credibility than Armageddon, the latter film fared better at the box office. Nonetheless, Deep Impact grossed over $349 million worldwide on an $80 million production budget. Both films were similarly received by critics, with Armageddon scoring 39% and Deep Impact scoring 47% on Rotten Tomatoes.