Million Dollar Baby (2004)
94%RT Audience Score: 90%
Awards & Nominations: Won 4 Oscars
67 wins & 86 nominations total
Clint Eastwood’s assured direction – combined with knockout performances from Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman – help Million Dollar Baby to transcend its clichés, and the result is deeply heartfelt and moving.
Million Dollar Baby is a knockout film that packs a punch with its emotional depth and unforgettable performances. Clint Eastwood proves once again that he is a master filmmaker, delivering a movie that is simultaneously conventional and subversive, broad and nuanced, shamelessly manipulative and genuinely moving. The film’s haunting tragedy is elevated even further by Eastwood’s own gentle piano score, which will leave you reeling long after the credits roll. So grab some popcorn, settle in, and get ready to be faked out and knocked flat with a right hook to the heart.
Production Company(ies)
Warner Bros., Lakeshore Entertainment, Malpaso Productions,
Distributor
Warner Bros.
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Hollywood Athletic Club – 6525 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for violence, some disturbing images, thematic material and language
Year of Release
2005
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:DTS Dolby Digital SDDS
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:2h 12m
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Language(s):English, Irish, Gaelic
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 15, 2004 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 12, 2005
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
Million Dollar Baby, Clint Eastwood, Hilary Swank, Morgan Freeman, Paul Haggis, drama, PG-13, directed by Clint Eastwood, written by Paul Haggis, produced by Clint Eastwood, Albert S Ruddy, Tom Rosenberg, box office, $100.4M, reviewed by Namrata Joshi, Peter Bradshaw, Paul Byrnes, Derek Malcolm, Christopher Orr, David Stratton, David Walsh, Alix Turner, Mike Massie, Mattie Lucas, Kaleem Aftab, Sky Staff, boxing, trainer, gym, Missouri, veteran, Los Angeles, Eddie “Scrap Iron” Dupris, Shawrelle Berry, Danger Barch, Big Willie Little, Warner Bros., Surround, Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS, Scope (2.35:1)
Worldwide gross: $216,763,646
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $330,344,183
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 453
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 36,024,447
US/Canada gross: $100,492,203
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $153,148,442
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 507
US/Canada opening weekend: $179,953
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $274,245
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,565
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $30,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $45,719,500
Production budget ranking: 863
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $24,619,951
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $260,004,733
ROI to date (est.): 370%
ROI ranking: 367
Hilary Swank – Maggie Fitzgerald
Morgan Freeman – Eddie Scrap-Iron Dupris
Anthony Mackie – Shawrelle Berry
Jay Baruchel – Danger Barch
Mike Colter – Big Willie Little
Director(s)
Clint Eastwood
Writer(s)
Paul Haggis
Producer(s)
Clint Eastwood, Albert S. Ruddy, Tom Rosenberg, Paul Haggis
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 4 Oscars
67 wins & 86 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Achievement in Directing Winners, Oscar Best Picture Winners, Oscar Nominees, Oscar Winners
All Critics (269) | Top Critics (70) | Fresh (243) | Rotten (26)
The film does obliquely posit a new model of womanhood, one about risking the all-important beauty for a larger mission. But more than Maggie, the show actually belongs to the guilt-ridden Frankie…
January 8, 2019 | Rating: 3/4
Namrata Joshi
Outlook
TOP CRITIC
A heartfelt, creditable picture.
February 27, 2015 | Rating: 3/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
I don’t think it’s his masterpiece, but it’s a big, beautiful, sad film with unforgettable performances.
February 27, 2015
Paul Byrnes
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
Anyone who doesn’t believe that Clint Eastwood is one of the best film-makers in America ought to see Million Dollar Baby.
February 27, 2015
Derek Malcolm
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
The movie is simultaneously conventional and subversive, broad and nuanced, shamelessly manipulative and genuinely moving, a cheap sucker punch and a work of real moral weight.
February 27, 2015
Christopher Orr
The Atlantic
TOP CRITIC
The film is impeccably made, but more than that, the director who also composed the lovely music score, brings a rare degree of humanity to the intensely moving conclusion.
February 27, 2015 | Rating: 5/5
David Stratton
At the Movies (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
The characters Eastwood plays are not answerable to anyone, except themselves. As long as they pull a long face, furrow their brows and look pained after the fact, they are permitted to commit any number of crimes.
February 15, 2021
David Walsh
World Socialist Web Site
Million Dollar Baby boasts wonderful acting and character writing, but a frustrating treatment of themes within a plot adapted from two short stories.
February 2, 2021 | Rating: 3/5
Alix Turner
Ready Steady Cut
As the film draws to its powerhouse close, gentle piano music by Eastwood himself gives this haunting tragedy an even higher level of poignancy.
November 7, 2020 | Rating: 10/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Fakes you out, then knocks you flat with a right hook to the heart.
June 5, 2019 | Rating: 4/4
Mattie Lucas
The Dispatch (Lexington, NC)
Million Dollar Baby is aesthetically and emotionally a dark movie that ultimately falls short because every rough edge is softened by a cliché. Here, Eastwood throws a handful of sugar in for good measure, too.
April 23, 2019 | Rating: 3/5
Kaleem Aftab
The List
Turning the conventions of the boxing movie inside out, this sees Eastwood – as actor and director – at the top of his game.
February 21, 2019 | Rating: 5/5
Sky Staff
Sky Cinema…
Plot
Wanting to learn from the best, aspiring boxer Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank) wants Frankie Dunn (Clint Eastwood) to train her. At the outset, he flatly refuses saying he has no interest in training a girl. Frankie leads a lonely existence, alienated from his only daughter and having few friends. Maggie’s rough around the edges, but shows a lot of grit in the ring and he eventually relents. Maggie not only proves to be the boxer he always dreamed of having under his wing, but a friend who fills the great void he’s had in his life. Maggie’s career skyrockets, but an accident in the ring leads her to ask Frankie for one last favor.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Morgan Freeman won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Million Dollar Baby.
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