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Paul Blart: Mall Cop Cast, Age, Trailer & DVD Facts

Benjamin Ethan Parker Cooper • 2026-10-16 • Reviewed by Daniel Mercer

Some movies fade after their opening weekend; others hang around the mall for a decade. Paul Blart: Mall Cop is firmly in the second group — a January 2009 comedy that turned a modest budget into more than $183 million worldwide and a 2015 sequel. The cast, the character age, the trailer, and the DVD details are all here, and each claim carries a source you can open.

Released: January 16, 2009 (Wikipedia (film page)) · Director: Steve Carr (Wikipedia (film page)) · Starring: Kevin James (Sony Pictures (official studio page)) · Runtime: 91 minutes (Apple TV (storefront listing)) · MPAA rating: PG (Apple TV (storefront listing)) · Worldwide box office: $183 million (Wikipedia (film page))

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts
2What’s unclear
  • Paul Blart’s exact in-universe age is sometimes given as 42, but the film never makes it a plot point (Wikipedia (film page)).
  • Exact DVD street dates and bonus features vary by region and edition (Sony Pictures (official studio page)). (Wikipedia (film page))
3Timeline signal
  • January 16, 2009 — U.S. theatrical debut (Wikipedia (film page)).
  • 2009 — DVD and Blu-ray release (Sony Pictures (official studio page)). (Wikipedia (film page))
  • April 17, 2015 — sequel Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 arrives in theaters (Wikipedia (film page)). (Wikipedia (film page))
4What’s next
  • The sequel already exists (Wikipedia (film page)), so first-time viewers should start with the 2009 original.
  • Sony’s product page still lists the title, so the home-media shelf isn’t going anywhere (Sony Pictures (official studio page)).

Seven data points, one pattern: the studio treated Paul Blart: Mall Cop as a throwaway January release, and the numbers came back like a franchise pitch.

Detail Value
Release date January 16, 2009 (IMDb (film reference page))
Director Steve Carr (Wikipedia (film page))
Lead actor Kevin James (Sony Pictures (official studio page))
Runtime 91 minutes (Apple TV (storefront listing))
MPAA rating PG (Apple TV (storefront listing))
Budget $26 million (Wikipedia (film page))
Worldwide box office $183 million (Wikipedia (film page))
Why this matters

A $26 million comedy that grossed $183 million worldwide (Wikipedia (film page)) doesn’t just pay for itself — it rewrites what studios expect from a January release slot.

What is Paul Blart: Mall Cop about?

Paul Blart: Mall Cop answers its own title quickly: it’s a movie about the guy everyone overlooks, and what happens when the mall suddenly needs him.

What genre is Paul Blart: Mall Cop?

  • It falls into the action-comedy lane, with physical stunts built around a security guard instead of a special agent (Wikipedia (film page)).
  • Apple TV’s listing summarizes the same pitch: an untested mall cop ends up defending the building against a takeover crew (Apple TV (storefront listing)).

Where does the story take place?

  • The story is set in a New Jersey mall, where Blart works security after failing the state police test for medical reasons (Wikipedia (film page)).
  • Most filming reportedly took place at Burlington Mall in Burlington, Massachusetts (Famous Birthdays (pop-culture database)).

The pattern: the mall is a contained stage — small enough to feel believable, big enough that the hero has room to fail in public.

Who is in the cast of Paul Blart: Mall Cop?

The cast is compact, and the movie works because every role is easy to follow: a likable lead, a friendly crush, and a gang of crooks more ridiculous than dangerous.

Who plays Paul Blart?

  • Kevin James stars as Paul Blart, the title character (Sony Pictures (official studio page)).
  • James also holds a writing credit on the film, according to Famous Birthdays’ movie summary (Famous Birthdays (pop-culture database)).

Who is Amy Anderson?

  • Jayma Mays plays Amy Anderson, the sales clerk Paul spends the movie trying to impress (Apple TV (storefront listing)).
  • Raini Rodriguez plays Maya Blart, Paul’s daughter (IMDb (film reference page)).

Who is the villain?

  • Keir O’Donnell plays Veck Simms, the leader of the mall takeover crew (IMDb (full credits listing)).
  • Bobby Cannavale plays Commander James Kent, the police commander leading the response (Apple TV (storefront listing)).
  • The supporting credits include Stephen Rannazzisi as Stuart, Peter Gerety as Chief Brooks, Adam Ferrara as Sergeant Howard, Adhir Kalyan as Pahud, and Erick Avari as Vijay (IMDb (full credits listing)).

Why this matters: the cast keeps the movie grounded — James carries the comedy, Mays gives him a reason, and the crooks stay light enough that the stakes never get heavy.

How old is Paul Blart in Mall Cop?

The age question is one of the most common Paul Blart searches, and the movie itself treats the answer as a throwaway line, not a plot point.

Is Paul Blart’s age confirmed in the film?

  • The character is introduced as a 42-year-old security guard who still lives with his mother, a setup detail played for comic effect (Wikipedia (film page)).

How old was Kevin James when the movie was released?

  • Kevin James was about 43 when the film opened in January 2009, which put the actor within a year of the character’s stated age (Wikipedia (film page)).
The catch

Blart’s age is search-bait, not character development — the movie jokes about it once and moves on, which is why fans keep asking and the film never answers more than it has to.

The implication: Blart’s age works as trivia, not theme — the movie spends one line on it, and search engines keep the question alive long after the credits roll.

Is Paul Blart: Mall Cop available on DVD?

Yes — and it has stayed easy to find. The film’s home-video life began in 2009 and never really went away.

When was Paul Blart: Mall Cop released to home video?

  • Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the film on DVD and Blu-ray after the 2009 theatrical run (Sony Pictures (official studio page)).
  • Exact street dates and bonus features vary by region and edition, so “2009” is the safe reference point (Sony Pictures (official studio page)).

What are the main DVD specs?

  • The film runs 91 minutes and is rated PG (Apple TV (storefront listing)).
  • Sony’s product page still lists Digital, Blu-ray, and DVD copies, so the title never became a hard-to-find catalog item (Sony Pictures (official studio page)).
What to watch

If you are buying a used copy, check the region and edition first — disc contents and release timing genuinely differ, so the copy in your hand may not match the one in the listing.

The trade-off: digital convenience is real, but the disc contents differ between editions — so collectors should check the specific release before buying, not just the format.

Is there an official Paul Blart: Mall Cop trailer?

Yes — and it did the job a January comedy trailer needs to do: introduce the character, show the takeover, and sell a hero who is in way over his head.

Where can I watch the official trailer?

  • The official trailer is available through Sony Pictures’ official channels, including the studio’s YouTube presence, with the movie’s page pointing viewers there (Sony Pictures (official studio page)).

What does the trailer show?

  • The trailer introduces Blart’s security-guard routine and the mall takeover plot that turns him into an accidental hero (Sony Pictures (official studio page)).
  • The marketing leaned on Kevin James’s physical comedy and the film’s PG action-comedy tone (Sony Pictures (official studio page)).

The pattern: the trailer sold a one-sentence premise — the least dangerous man in the building turns out to be the only one who can save it — and the finished film stuck to that promise.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop specs at a glance

Twelve rows, one pattern: a modestly budgeted comedy with a clean PG hook, a single-name lead, and franchise-shaped numbers.

Spec Detail
Full title Paul Blart: Mall Cop
Genre Action-comedy (Wikipedia (film page))
Release date January 16, 2009 (Wikipedia (film page))
Director Steve Carr (Wikipedia (film page))
Starring Kevin James, Jayma Mays, Keir O’Donnell, Bobby Cannavale (IMDb (full credits listing))
Runtime 91 minutes (Apple TV (storefront listing))
MPAA rating PG (Apple TV (storefront listing))
Writer Kevin James, per Famous Birthdays’ film summary (Famous Birthdays (pop-culture database))
Budget $26 million (Wikipedia (film page))
Worldwide box office $183 million (Wikipedia (film page))
Sequel Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015) (Wikipedia (film page))
Home media Digital, Blu-ray, DVD (Sony Pictures (official studio page))

Why this matters: every spec on this sheet points the same direction — a comedy built to overperform, and built to survive on home video.

Paul Blart: Mall Cop timeline

Three dates, one arc: a January release, a quick home-video follow-up, and a sequel that arrived six years later.

Date Event
U.S. theatrical release (Wikipedia (film page))
DVD and Blu-ray release from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (Sony Pictures (official studio page))
Sequel Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 reaches theaters (Wikipedia (film page))

The pattern: the studio treated the first film as a low-risk test, and the six-year gap before the sequel shows just how long the catalog kept paying off.

Confirmed facts vs. what’s unclear

Confirmed facts

  • The release date, director, and PG rating are widely documented (Wikipedia (film page); Apple TV (storefront listing)).
  • The film grossed $183 million worldwide against a reported $26 million budget (Wikipedia (film page)).
  • Kevin James plays the title character, and Sony still lists the movie on Digital, Blu-ray, and DVD (Sony Pictures (official studio page)).

What’s unclear

  • Paul Blart’s in-universe age is often given as 42, but the film never makes it a plot point (Wikipedia (film page)).
  • Exact DVD street dates and bonus features differ by region and edition (Sony Pictures (official studio page)).
  • Some production details — including Adam Sandler’s producer involvement and Kevin James’s writing credit — rest on a lower-tier database listing rather than a primary source (Famous Birthdays (pop-culture database)).

The balance: the core facts are solid, but the fringe details are exactly the kind of trivia that gets copied from database to database — fine to repeat with attribution, risky to treat as gospel.

Voices on Paul Blart

Sony Pictures Entertainment’s official page presents the premise as a one-man stand: Kevin James is Paul Blart, a New Jersey mall security guard who has to defend the mall when a crew takes it over.

— Sony Pictures (official studio page)

Apple TV’s listing does the practical job of a reference entry: it pins the runtime at 91 minutes, the rating at PG, and the cast around Kevin James, Jayma Mays, and Bobby Cannavale.

— Apple TV (storefront listing)

The pattern: one source sells the movie, the other verifies the basics — together they cover the two things most people want: a reason to watch and the numbers that matter.

The takeaway: Paul Blart: Mall Cop is the rare January release that outlived its release slot — a $26 million comedy (Wikipedia (film page)) that turned into a $183 million global gross and a sequel six years later. The trivia around it stays alive because the facts are easy to check and the movie is easy to watch. For anyone who has only seen Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, the decision is clear: start with the 2009 original and see where the joke began, or keep wondering why a mall cop became a catalog title with staying power.

Additional sources

sonypictures.com, letterboxd.com

Frequently asked questions

Who directed Paul Blart: Mall Cop?

Steve Carr directed the film (Wikipedia (film page)).

How long is Paul Blart: Mall Cop?

The runtime is 91 minutes, or 1 hour 31 minutes, per Apple TV’s listing (Apple TV (storefront listing)).

What is Paul Blart: Mall Cop rated?

It is rated PG (Apple TV (storefront listing)).

How much did Paul Blart: Mall Cop make at the box office?

The worldwide gross was $183 million against a reported $26 million budget (Wikipedia (film page)).

Are there Paul Blart: Mall Cop sequels?

Yes — Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 was released on April 17, 2015 (Wikipedia (film page)).

Where was Paul Blart: Mall Cop filmed?

Most filming reportedly took place at Burlington Mall in Burlington, Massachusetts (Famous Birthdays (pop-culture database)).

Related reading

If you’re working through comedy back catalogs, these two guides pair well with the Blart deep cuts.



Benjamin Ethan Parker Cooper

About the author

Benjamin Ethan Parker Cooper

Our desk combines breaking updates with clear and practical explainers.