Die Hard (film series) reunite with separated wife Holly (Bonnie Bedelia) in Los Angeles at her company's Christmas party. Holly left to pursue her career with their two children, and uses her maiden name. At the fictional Nakatomi Plaza, East German terrorists break in and take the celebrants hostage. McClane escapes detection and hides throughout the building. He kills off the gang and learns their real plan, to steal $640 million in bearer bonds from the building's vault. In the finale, McClane shoots the terrorist leader, Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman), out the window to fall thirty stories. It was released on July 15, 1988
Die Hard Gruber pretending to be a hostage; it was only written in when it was discovered that Rickman could perform a convincing American accent. The premiere of "Die Hard" took place on July 12, 1988, at the AVCO theater in Los Angeles, California. Die Hard had its inaugural British screening at the London Film Festival on 27 November 1988. "Die Hard" opened in limited release in 21 theaters on July 15, 1988, earning $601,851—an average of $28,659 per theater. The film began a wide release in North America on July 20, 1988, earning approximately $7.1 million from 1,276 theaters—an average of