<Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $221.5 million </Td> </Tr> <P> Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (French: Valérian et la Cité des mille planètes) is a 2017 English - language French 3D science fiction adventure film written and directed by Luc Besson, and co-produced by Besson and his wife, Virginie Besson - Silla . The film is based on the French science fiction comics series Valérian and Laureline, written by Pierre Christin and illustrated by Jean - Claude Mézières . It stars Dane DeHaan as Valerian and Cara Delevingne as Laureline, with Clive Owen, Rihanna, Ethan Hawke, Herbie Hancock, Kris Wu and Rutger Hauer in supporting roles . Besson independently crowd - sourced and personally funded Valerian and, with a production budget of around $180 million, it is both the most expensive European and independent film ever made . </P> <P> The film was released by STX Entertainment on 21 July 2017 in the United States, and in France on 26 July, by EuropaCorp . Valerian received mixed reviews from critics, who criticized the plot and some of the casting, but praised the visuals, and grossed $221 million worldwide . Due to its high production and advertising costs, the film was considered a box office bomb in the US market . </P> <P> In the 28th century, the former International Space Station has become "Alpha", a city where millions of creatures from different planets live peacefully and exchange their knowledge and cultures . The humans form a special police division to preserve peace through the universe, including officers Valerian, a happy - go - lucky major, and his partner Laureline, a no - nonsense sergeant . </P>

When did valerian and the city of a thousand planets come out