Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (also known as Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief) is a 2010 action fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus. The film is the first installment in the Percy Jackson film series and is based on the 2005 novel The Lightning Thief, the first novel in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. It stars Logan Lerman as Percy Jackson alongside an ensemble cast that includes Brandon T. Jackson, Alexandra Daddario, Jake Abel, Rosario Dawson, Steve Coogan, Uma Thurman, Catherine Keener, Joe Pantoliano, Kevin McKidd, Sean Bean, Dylan Neal and Pierce Brosnan. The movie was released to theaters on February 12, 2010 in the United States by 20th Century Fox.

The film cost $95 million to make. It received mixed reviews from critics and a largely negative response from fans, with criticism for the unfaithfulness to its source material and its script, but praise for Lerman’s performance and the action sequences. Despite the response, the film grossed $226.4 million worldwide. The film was released on June 29, 2010 on DVD and Blu-ray. A video game based on the film developed by Activision was released for Nintendo DS on February 11, 2010. A sequel, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, was released on August 7, 2013.

Cast

• Logan Lerman as Percy Jackson, the demigod son of Poseidon
• Brandon T. Jackson as Grover Underwood, Percy’s best friend and protector, a satyr and Persephone’s love interest
• Alexandra Daddario as Annabeth Chase, the demigod daughter of Athena, and Percy’s romantic foil
• Jake Abel as Luke Castellan, the demigod son of Hermes
• Sean Bean as Zeus, god of the sky, thunder, lightning, king of the twelve gods of Mount Olympus and brother of Poseidon and Hades
• Kevin McKidd as Poseidon, Percy’s father, god of the seas, earthquakes, and horses
• Steve Coogan as Hades, Percy’s Uncle, god of the Underworld, the dead, and riches
• Melina Kanakaredes as Athena, Annabeth’s mother, goddess of crafts, domestic arts, strategic warfare, peace and wisdom
• Rosario Dawson as Persephone, goddess of springtime, wife of Hades and admirer of Grover
• Dylan Neal as Hermes, Luke’s father, god of trade, thieves, travelers, sports, athletes, and messenger of the gods of Mount Olympus
• Erica Cerra as Hera, goddess of birth, family, marriage, women and queen of the twelve gods of Mount Olympus, sister and wife of Zeus
• Stefanie von Pfetten as Demeter, goddess of agriculture, fertility, and the harvest, sister of Zeus and mother of Persephone
• Dimitri Lekkos as Apollo, god of the sun, light, knowledge, healing, plague and darkness, the arts, music, poetry, prophecy, archery, and twin brother of Artemis
• Ona Grauer as Artemis, goddess of the hunt, virginity, the moon, and all animals, and twin sister of Apollo
• Serinda Swan as Aphrodite, goddess of love, beauty, wife of Hephaestus and lover of Ares
• Conrad Coates as Hephaestus, god of fire, forge, blacksmiths, craftsmen and husband of Aphrodite
• Ray Winstone as Ares, god of war, lover of Aphrodite (uncredited)
• Luke Camilleri as Dionysus, god of wine, celebrations, ecstasy, and theatre
• Uma Thurman as Medusa, a gorgon cursed by Athena
• Pierce Brosnan as Mr. Brunner/Chiron, a centaur who is a high school teacher and also trains heroes at Camp Half-Blood, the immortal son of Kronos and brother of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, and Hera
• Maria Olsen as Mrs. Dodds / Alecto, a Fury, servant to Hades
• Julian Richings as Charon, ferryman of the River Styx, servant to Hades
• Catherine Keener as Sally Jackson, Percy’s mother
• Joe Pantoliano as Gabe Ugliano, Percy’s abusive stepfather