I think it was a true shock to people that the movie Cocaine Bear actually performed well at the box office. Not only did it perform well, but I am willing to bet many of your friends, who you’d never have suspected, went to go see it. And for those that went to see it, you went in not expecting much at all. Only THEN did you come out feeling pleasantly surprised. If you went in expecting a blockbuster movie that was set to win awards, then you were probably disappointed. But then again, what are you expecting when you know that the movie is about a bear high on cocaine? Hopefully not much.

Not sure if many of you know this, but the movie is based on true events. It was an incident that took place back in 1985 when a drug runner’s plane crashed. That part does take place in the movie. But does a bear actually eat the cocaine and kill people? NO. So what did the bear actually do? What inspired this movie that is now taking over the box office? We are diving deep into the facts of the movie and what actually happened.

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 21: (L-R) Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Brian Duffield, Aditya Sood, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Alden Ehrenreich, Keri Russell, Brooklynn Prince, Max Handelman, Elizabeth Banks, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jimmy Warden, Aaron Holliday and Kahyun Kim attend the Los Angeles premiere of Universal Pictures’ “Cocaine Bear” at Regal LA Live on February 21, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

• The story WAS based on a drug runner's plane crash in 1985

  Cocaine and a Dead Bear (Published 1985)

  This is a digitized version of an article from The Times's print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions.

• Elizabeth Banks directed the movie to "give the bear a point of view"

  The True Story Behind 'Cocaine Bear': A 175-Pound Beast, a Dead Drug Smuggler in Gucci Loafers and More

  Elizabeth Banks' insane horror-comedy "Cocaine Bear" will have moviegoers asking: What is real?

• Before the "cocaine bear" died, the body of drug runner Andrew Thornton was found

  The incident happened in September of 1985 when Thornton was traveling in a plane with 880 pounds of cocaine and thought the Feds were trailing him, so he decided to throw some of the stash out of the plane and take some more with him when he parachuted out. His plan didn’t work. 

  The True Story Behind 'Cocaine Bear': A 175-Pound Beast, a Dead Drug Smuggler in Gucci Loafers and More

  Elizabeth Banks' insane horror-comedy "Cocaine Bear" will have moviegoers asking: What is real?

• Thornton was found in a driveway with cocaine strapped to his body wearing Gucci loafers

  He was found dead in a driveway with $15 million worth of cocaine strapped to his body wearing Gucci loafers

  The True Story Behind 'Cocaine Bear': A 175-Pound Beast, a Dead Drug Smuggler in Gucci Loafers and More

  Elizabeth Banks' insane horror-comedy "Cocaine Bear" will have moviegoers asking: What is real?

• A bear DID eat the cocaine

  So a much smaller bear than was depicted in the movie did appear a few months later (in December). The bear was found dead in Chattahoochee National Forest.

  "Cocaine Bear" Is Actually Based On A True Story - Here's What Happened

  Directed by Elizabeth Banks, the story is actually inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner's plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it.

• The bear was given a nickname "Pablo Escobear"

  Sometimes spelled “Eskobear,” he was named after the notorious Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar.

  'Cocaine Bear,' a drug smuggler and the very real story behind it all

  The new movie "Cocaine Bear" is a highly fictionalized account of a drug-smuggling drop gone wrong in September 1985. Here's the real story behind the film.

• Unlike the movie, Pablo Escobear did NOT kill anyone in real life

  The bear was actually found four weeks after it had passed. He did NOT kill anyone like the movie portrayed.

  Did The Real Cocaine Bear Actually Kill Anyone?

  Cocaine Bear makes an entire movie around the drug-fueled animal killing people. Here is how accurate that is to the real Cocaine Bear's true story.

• Screenwriter Jimmy Warden says the movie is his twisted fantasy of what would've happened

  Jimmy Warden is fully aware the bear did not kill people but said, the film is “my twisted fantasy of what I wish actually happened after the bear did all that cocaine.”

  The True Story Behind 'Cocaine Bear': A 175-Pound Beast, a Dead Drug Smuggler in Gucci Loafers and More

  Elizabeth Banks' insane horror-comedy "Cocaine Bear" will have moviegoers asking: What is real?

• Just how much cocaine did the "cocaine bear" eat?

  After an autopsy was performed, it was determined that the bear had “a stomach full of cocaine,” although just 4 grams of cocaine was actually found in its blood.

  "Cocaine Bear" Is Actually Based On A True Story - Here's What Happened

  Directed by Elizabeth Banks, the story is actually inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner's plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it.

• The bear's body was actually stuffed and is on display in Kentucky

  Cocaine Bear, Lexington, Kentucky

  Famous bear that died after eating $15 million in cocaine dropped from a plane by a drug smuggler, who also died. Immortalized in a very loosely based 2023 Hollywood film.

• Cocaine Bear the movie made $23 million its first weekend in theaters

  Cocaine Bear's Box Office Is Nothing to Sniff At

  'Cocaine Bear' overperformed at the February 25 box office; 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,' not so much (it was one of the MCU's biggest second-week drop-offs). Meanwhile, Elizabeth Banks's animal attack gross-out grossed well.

• Cocaine Bear trailer

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