Howard the Duck is a 1986 English-language Action Adventure film written by Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz. The movie is directed by Willard Huyck and produced by Gloria Katz under the banner of Lucasfilm Ltd. in collaboration with Marvel Productions. A scientific experiment unknowingly brings extraterrestrial life forms to the Earth through a laser beam. First is the cigar smoking drake Howard from the duck's planet. A few kids try to keep him from the greedy scientists and help him back to his planet. But then a much less friendly being arrives through the beam.. Written by Tom Zoerner. Howard the duck stars Lea Thompson in the lead role along with an ensemble cast including Jeffrey Jones, Tim Robbins, Ed Gale, Chip Zien, Tim Rose and Steve Sleap. The film is based on Howard the Duck by Steve Gerber. The music was composed by John Barry along with Sylvester Levay and Thomas Dolby. Cinematography was done by Richard H. Kline and editing by Michael Chandler and Sidney Wolinsky. The movie has a running time of 111 minutes. It was released on 1st August 1986. Howard the Duck was made on a budget of $37 million and it was a hit at box office gross of $37 million. Distribution rights for the motion picture were acquired by Universal Pictures.