The Funniest Western Comedy Ever Is a Streaming Hit

When it comes to comedies in the 21st century, they don't come much funnier than Blazing Saddles. Mel Brooks' genius Western spoof that stands as the funniest of its kind to this day, Blazing Saddles was just the third directorial effort in the Hollywood legend's career, and remarkably debuted in the same year as one of his other best movies: Young Frankenstein. Now, at 99 years old, Brooks is set to reprise his role from the original in the planned Spaceballs 2, which is scheduled to debut the same year he turns 101.

In anticipation of this incredible feat, Brooks' Blazing Saddles has returned to the streaming charts, officially placing as one of the ten most-streamed movies on HBO Max in the U.S. At the time of writing, the Western comedy is in eighth place on the list, with Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another the current chart topper. Starring the likes of Gene Wilder, Cleavon Little, Alex Karras, Madeline Kahn, and more, the film is heralded as one of the finest comedies of all time, and boasts an impressive, "certified fresh" 89% score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. The critics' consensus on the site reads, "Daring, provocative, and laugh-out-loud funny, Blazing Saddles is a gleefully vulgar spoof of Westerns that marks a high point in Mel Brooks' storied career." A synopsis for the movie reads:

"In this satirical take on Westerns, crafty railroad worker Bart (Cleavon Little) becomes the first black sheriff of Rock Ridge, a frontier town about to be destroyed in order to make way for a new railroad. Initially, the people of Rock Ridge harbor a racial bias toward their new leader. However, they warm to him after realizing that Bart and his perpetually drunk gunfighter friend (Gene Wilder) are the only defense against a wave of thugs sent to rid the town of its population."

Was 'Blazing Saddles' a Box Office Hit?

Made for just $2.6 million, Blazing Saddles is one of the most successful comedies of its time at the box office. Released almost entirely in North America, the movie earned just shy of $120 million and is still one of the 100 highest-grossing comedies in the U.S. to this day. Adjusted for inflation, Blazing Saddles earned almost $800 million in today's money, a total that would place it above Barbie and sit happily atop the very same list.

Blazing Saddles is streaming on HBO Max. Stay tuned to Collider for more streaming stories.

Release Date February 7, 1974

Runtime 93 minutes

Writers Alan Uger, Andrew Bergman, Norman Steinberg, Mel Brooks, Richard Pryor

Producers Michael Hertzberg