With a screenplay by Eric Roth and starring popular actor Tom Hanks, the film premiered in Los Angeles, California on June 23, 1994.

It was released in the United States and Canada on July 6, 1994, opening in 1,595 domestic theaters and earning $24,450,602 on its first weekend.

[3] Forrest Gump won six Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Director, Best Visual Effects, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing.

The movie has made multiple American Film Institute lists, including one for quotations for its "Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates.

[9] A chain of restaurants, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, opened with a name drawn from the film.