The Phantom

In 1938, a masked protector known as the Phantom safeguards the African island of Bengalla, carrying on a role passed down through twenty generations before him. When the New York gangster Xander Drax begins hunting three legendary skulls said to grant unlimited power to whoever unites them, the current Phantom, Kit Walker, leaves his island home and travels to New York to stop him. Diana Palmer, a reporter sent to Bengalla on assignment, becomes caught up in the conflict after pirates abduct her, and Kit works to keep both her and the skulls out of Drax's hands.

The film is directed by Simon Wincer, the ninth of the thirteen features in his directing career, following Lightning Jack and preceding Flash. Jeffrey Boam wrote the screenplay, and the cast is led by Billy Zane as Kit Walker, Kristy Swanson as Diana Palmer, Treat Williams as Xander Drax, Catherine Zeta-Jones as Sala, James Remar as Quill and Jon Tenney as Jimmy Wells, with 35 credited cast members and 75 credited crew. It is an Australian, American and Thai co-production.

The Phantom was made for about 45 million dollars and returned roughly 17 million at the worldwide box office, a fraction of its cost. On IMDb it holds a 5.3 rating from 647 votes, and on TMDB it holds 5.3 from 647 votes, both indicating middling audience response, while critics gave it 5.1 from 48 reviews, close to the audience figures.