The title of Elizabeth Banks and Universal Pictures’Cocaine Bearmight sound a little ridiculous, but it told viewers exactly what they needed to know before watching it. It was about a bear that did cocaine, and the chaos that soon followed. Despite the absurd nature of the premise,Cocaine Bearwas, believe it or not, inspired by true events. This has caused people to wonder just how historically accurate the film was to those events.
In the mid-1980s, a drug-smuggling duo was trafficking cocaine from Colombia into the United States. While flying a Cessna 404 Titan, Andrew C. Thornton II found that his cargo was too heavy and decided to jettison 40 containers into the American wilderness. A black bear found and ripped open the containers, consuming close to 75 pounds of cocaine. But was what happened next anything like what happened in the film? Here is the true story of the real-life cocaine bear, explained.
Were Any of the Characters in the Movie Real People?
At the beginning of the film, Andrew C. Thornton II (Matthew Rhys) dumped his cargo before attempting to jump from his plane. In the process, he hit his head on the doorframe, resulting in him losing consciousness and falling to his death. While “Andrew C. Thornton II” was indeed the name of the real person who dropped the cargo, the details of his death were changed for the film. In real-life, Thornton did not knock himself unconscious and died because of a faulty parachute. Thornton was 40 at the time of his death and was a convicted drug smuggler, the head of a Kentucky smuggling ring, and a former policeman and lawyer who had previously trained as a paratrooper.
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On the morning of June 22, 2025, Fred Myers looked out the window of his Knoxville, Tennesse home to find Thornton’s body in his backyard (viaThe Washington Post). Myers was an 85-year-old retired engineer at the time and remarked that he had “never had a landing” in his backyard before. Thornton was found tangled up in a parachute with a broken neck wearing a bulletproof vest, night-vision goggles, and Gucci loafers. He was also carrying weapons and as reported by theAssociated Press, carrying nearly 80 pounds of cocaine.
Cocaine Bear’s Sari (Keri Russell), Daveed (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), Eddie (Alden Ehrenreich), and Syd (Ray Liotta) were all fictional characters and were not based on a real person like Thornton. The filmportrayed its CG bearas a fiercely protective mother when her real-life counterpart was not known to have any cubs.
How Many People Did the Cocaine Bear Kill in Real-Life?
Cocaine Beardepicted its titular bear going on a murderous rampage. The long list of victims included Elsa, Peter, Vest, Tom, Olaf, and Syd, and those were only the people that died on-screen. In real-life however, the cocaine bear has not been known to have killed anyone. People dying from black bear attacks have been quite rare, with AZ Animals listing an average of one fatal black bear attack in North America each year. The National Park Service has asserted that bears are usually only interested in “protecting food, cubs, or their space” and what’s more, according toBear.org, there has been no record of a mother black bear killing someone to defend her cubs.
What the real-life cocaine bear did after consuming cocaine has remained shrouded in mystery. Why the bear was so drawn to the scent of the cocaine has also remained unknown, and this incident of course, has been regarded as a very unusual occurrence.
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The over-the-top nature ofCocaine Bearshould be enough to remind viewers that it is not real, but critics have already begun worrying about the potentialsociocultural impact of the film. Their concerns have revolved around whether audiences will be able to fully distinguish between the film’s monstrous killer and real black bears. WhenJawsreleased in 1975, many developed a fear of sharks, but there was also a rise in sharks being hunted for sport. Following the film’s release, the number of large sharks east of North America suffered a dramatic drop of about 50% (via Smithsonian Magazine). WithCocaine Bearportraying a black bear as an unstoppable beast, some might feel challenged and inspired to hunt the animal.
What Happened to the Cocaine Bear?
The bear inCocaine Bearmanaged to survive the events of the film, leaving the door open for her toreturn in a possible sequel. The real cocaine bear had a much different fate, dying from a fatal overdose. Three months after Thornton dumped his cargo, the body of the bear was found with a significant amount of cocaine in its stomach.
After being stuffed, the bear was given to the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area before being displayed at the “Kentucky for Kentucky Fun Mall” in Lexington. The bear has since continued to remain on display, and with the popularity ofCocaine Bear, the mall is certainly about to have a lot more visitors.
Cocaine Beardirector Elizabeth Banks has referred to the bear as a victim of the American “War on Drugs,” describing her film asthe bear’s “revenge story.”
