The Mask, 1994

The Mask is a 1994 American superhero comedy film directed by Chuck Russell, produced by Bob Engelman, and written by Mike Werb, loosely based on the Mask comics published by Dark Horse Comics. The first installment in The Mask franchise, it stars Jim Carrey in the title role, Peter Riegert, Peter Greene, Amy Yasbeck, Richard Jeni, and Cameron Diaz in her film debut. Carrey plays Stanley Ipkiss, a hapless, everyday bank clerk who finds a magical wooden green mask that transforms him into The Mask, a green-faced troublemaker with the ability to cartoonishly alter himself and his surroundings at will. He starts using these powers to fight crime, only to become targeted by Dorian Tyrell, a gangster who desires to overthrow his superior.

The film was released on July 29, 1994, by New Line Cinema, becoming a critical and commercial success. The film grossed over $351 million on a $18–23 million budget, which made it the second most profitable film based on a comic up to that point, behind Superman (1978). The film also influenced the resurgence of swing music in the 1990s. It cemented Carrey's reputation as a significant actor of the 1990s, and it established Diaz as a leading lady. Carrey was nominated for a Golden Globe for his role, and the film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects but lost to Forrest Gump. A standalone sequel, Son of the Mask, was released in 2005 to a critical and box office failure.