Boiler Room (2000)

NEUTRAL

Various

79%

2000, Drama, 2h 0m

RT Critics’ Score: 66% (UNBIASED)
RT Audience Score: 78%
Awards & Nominations: 1 win & 9 nominations

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Critics Consensus

Its ending is disappointingly tidy, but Boiler Room boasts just enough sharp writing and brisk pacing to make getting there worthwhile

Audience Consensus

Boiler Room is like a rollercoaster ride, but instead of twists and turns, it’s filled with shady stockbrokers and questionable business practices. While some critics found the movie derivative and flawed, I found it to be a fun and thrilling watch. Giovanni Ribisi shines as the lead, and the raucous office scenes are a highlight. Sure, the father storyline didn’t pay off and the ending was a bit of a letdown, but overall, I’d recommend giving this movie a chance. Just don’t let your kids watch it.

Storyline

Seth Davis is a college dropout running an illegal casino from his rented apartment. Driven by his domineering father’s disapproval at his illegitimate existence and his desire for serious wealth, Seth suddenly finds himself seduced by the opportunity to interview as a trainee stock broker from recent acquaintance Greg (Nicky Katt). Walking into the offices of JT Marlin, a small time brokerage firm on the outskirts of New York – Seth gets an aggressive cameo performance from Jim (Ben Affleck) that sets the tone for a firm clearly placing money above all else. Seth’s fractured relationship with his father and flirtatious glances from love interest Abbie (Nia Long) are enough to keep Seth motivated in his newfound career. As he begins to excel and develop a love for the hard sale and high commission, a few chance encounters lead Seth to question the legitimacy of the firm’s operations – placing him once again at odds with his father and what remains of his morality. With homages to Wall Street, and Glengarry Glen Ross, it’s a decent debut feature for Ben Younger whose script exposes a truly sinister side of an already immoral business.

Production Company(ies)
M K2 Productions, France 3 Cinéma C AB Productions,

Distributor
New Line Cinema

Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical

Filming Location(s)
Garden City, Long Island, New York, USA

MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for strong language and some drug content

Year of Release
2000

Technical Specs

Color:

Color
Sound mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS
Aspect ratio:

1.85 : 1
Runtime:

2h 0m
Language(s):

English, Russian
Country of origin:

United States
Release date:

Release Date (Theaters): Feb 18, 2000 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 11, 2000

Genre(s)
Drama

Keyword(s)
starring Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Nia Long, Nicky Katt, Scott Caan, Ron Rifkin, directed by Ben Younger, written by Ben Younger, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Nell Minow, Liam Lacey, John Wrathall, Jay Carr, Ernest Hardy, R MPAA rating, Jennifer Todd, Suzanne Todd produced, New Line Cinema distributed, SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS, Surround sound mix, Flat (1.85:1) aspect ratio, stockbrokers, Long Island, hyper-aggressive, fly-by-night brokerage firm, Gen Xers, mansions, Ferraris, luxury toys, law, illegal, corrupt, Glengarry Glen Ross, Wall Street, rise-and-fall, flashy, sharp writing, brisk pacing

Box Office Details

Worldwide gross: $28,780,255
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $49,916,928
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,325
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 5,443,504

US/Canada gross: $16,970,581
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $29,434,043
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,281
US/Canada opening weekend: $5,742,129
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $9,959,239
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 959

Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $7,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $12,140,910
Production budget ranking: 1,588
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $6,537,880
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $31,238,138
ROI to date (est.): 167%
ROI ranking: 717

Cast & Crew

Giovanni Ribisi

Vin Diesel

Nia Long

Nicky Katt

Scott Caan

Seth

Chris

Abby

Greg

Richie

Giovanni Ribisi – Seth
Vin Diesel – Chris
Nia Long – Abby
Nicky Katt – Greg
Scott Caan – Richie
Ron Rifkin – Marty Davis
Ben Younger – Director/Writer
Jennifer Todd – Producer
Suzanne Todd – Producer

Ben Younger

Jennifer Todd

Suzanne Todd

Director

Writer

Producer

Director(s)
Ben Younger

Writer(s)
Ben Younger

Producer(s)
Jennifer Todd, Suzanne Todd

Film Festivals

Awards & Nominations
1 win & 9 nominations

Academy Awards

Top Reviews

Nell Minow

Liam Lacey

John Wrathall

Jay Carr

Ernest Hardy

Common Sense Media

Globe and Mail

Sight & Sound

Boston Globe

Movie Mom

BOILER ROOM
All Critics (102) | Top Critics (27) | Fresh (67) | Rotten (35)
Good but mature movie. Not for kids.

December 22, 2010 | Rating: 4/5

Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
TOP CRITIC
To put the movie in sales terms, after a good opening pitch, Younger fails to close the deal. The audience can’t buy in.

March 19, 2002 | Rating: 2.5/4

Liam Lacey
Globe and Mail
TOP CRITIC
Ribisi, such a promising supporting actor in Saving Private Ryan as a medic and Friends as Phoebe’s dopey brother, doesn’t seem a big enough presence for a starring role yet.

March 3, 2002

John Wrathall
Sight & Sound
TOP CRITIC
Boiler Room is derivative and flawed. But it does throw off a few sparks.

January 1, 2000 | Rating: 2.5/4

Jay Carr
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
This movie has one of the best scripts in many months.

January 1, 2000 | Rating: 4/5

Nell Minow
Movie Mom
TOP CRITIC
Younger has a firmer grasp on the convoluted workings of pop and business (sub) cultures than many of his contemporaries.

January 1, 2000

Ernest Hardy
Film.com
TOP CRITIC
There were random racial slurs, the father storyline didn’t pay off and the performances were really uneven.

July 1, 2021 | Rating: 2/5

Justin Brown
Medium Popcorn
I really enjoyed this movie despite the father storyline. If this is on TV, I’m watching it.

July 1, 2021 | Rating: 4/5

Brandon Collins
Medium Popcorn
First-time filmmaker Ben Younger does a nice job of initially establishing the central character and the raucous office in which much of the story transpires…

December 19, 2018 | Rating: 2/4

David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
It’s Ribisi who makes the film.

November 27, 2017

Antonia Quirke
Independent on Sunday
Stars a host of actors that have offered so much better in past and future films…

February 26, 2014

Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed
Almost liked this one about greedy, young stockbrokers working for an illegal firm, but hated the ending so much it derailed the movie.

August 7, 2008 | Rating: 2/5

Bob Grimm
Sacramento News & Review…

Plot
Seth Davis is a college dropout running an illegal casino from his rented apartment. Driven by his domineering father’s disapproval at his illegitimate existence and his desire for serious wealth, Seth suddenly finds himself seduced by the opportunity to interview as a trainee stock broker from recent acquaintance Greg (Nicky Katt). Walking into the offices of JT Marlin, a small time brokerage firm on the outskirts of New York – Seth gets an aggressive cameo performance from Jim (Ben Affleck) that sets the tone for a firm clearly placing money above all else. Seth’s fractured relationship with his father and flirtatious glances from love interest Abbie (Nia Long) are enough to keep Seth motivated in his newfound career. As he begins to excel and develop a love for the hard sale and high commission, a few chance encounters lead Seth to question the legitimacy of the firm’s operations – placing him once again at odds with his father and what remains of his morality. With homages to Wall Street, and Glengarry Glen Ross, it’s a decent debut feature for Ben Younger whose script exposes a truly sinister side of an already immoral business.

Trivia