Bowling for Columbine (2002)
90%RT Audience Score: 83%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
39 wins & 13 nominations total
Though it may not always convince, Bowling for Columbine asks important questions and provokes thought.
Bowling for Columbine is a documentary that will make you laugh, cry, and question everything you thought you knew about gun violence in America. Michael Moore’s style may not be subtle, but it sure is effective. From the desolate neighborhoods of Flint to the devastating aftermath of the Columbine shooting, this film will leave you with a lot to think about. And let’s be real, who doesn’t love a good argument? So grab some popcorn, settle in, and get ready to be entertained and informed all at once.
Production Company(ies)
Icon Entertainment International, The Ladd Company, B. H. Finance C.V.
Distributor
United Artists
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for some violent images and language
Year of Release
2002
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Color:Color
Black and White -
Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:2h 0m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Oct 11, 2002 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 19, 2003
Genre(s)
Documentary
Keyword(s)
Bowling for Columbine, Michael Moore, documentary, guns, America, Columbine High School massacre, Kmart, Canada, National Rifle Association, Charlton Heston, Marilyn Manson, political, provocative, thought-provoking, violent images, language, United Artists, box office, gross USA, R rating, surround sound, Dolby Stereo, Charles Bishop, Jim Czarnecki, Michael Donovan, Kathleen Glynn, reviewed by Joshua Rothkopf, Nell Minow, David Ansen, Andrew Sarris, Marjorie Baumgarten, Brian Eggert, Matt Brunson, David Walsh, Richard Crouse, Fresh Kernels, audience score, critic consensus, fresh, rotten, verified purchase, Fandango, MCU movies, horror movies, Netflix series, TV shows, streaming movies, actors
Worldwide gross: $58,011,975
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $96,216,491
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,035
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 10,492,529
US/Canada gross: $21,576,018
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $35,785,176
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,213
US/Canada opening weekend: $209,148
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $346,885
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,492
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $4,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $6,634,250
Production budget ranking: 1,815
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $3,572,544
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $86,009,697
ROI to date (est.): 843%
ROI ranking: 152
George W. Bush – Self
Dick Clark – Self
Charlton Heston – Self
Marilyn Manson – Self
John Nichols – Self
Director(s)
Michael Moore
Writer(s)
Michael Moore
Producer(s)
Charles Bishop, Jim Czarnecki, Michael Donovan, Kathleen Glynn, Michael Moore
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
39 wins & 13 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Best Documentary Feature Winners, Oscar Winners
All Critics (172) | Top Critics (41) | Fresh (163) | Rotten (9)
Readers of these pages need no introduction to Michael Moore, nor will they require any acrobatics on my part to go see Bowling for Columbine, which is (brace yourselves) pretty terrific.
March 16, 2020
Joshua Rothkopf
In These Times
TOP CRITIC
Must-see gun violence documentary is brutal.
December 22, 2010 | Rating: 4/5
Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
TOP CRITIC
It’s both powerful and infuriating, brilliant and facile, hilarious and horrific, witty and demagogic. It’s a great movie to argue about.
November 5, 2007
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
January 21, 2003 | Rating: 4/5
Nell Minow
Movie Mom
TOP CRITIC
All in all, Mr. Moore has given us a lot to think about in Bowling for Columbine, and he has entertained us royally in the process.
December 19, 2002
Andrew Sarris
Observer
TOP CRITIC
Fun and informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking.
November 3, 2002 | Rating: 3/5
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
The film’s continued relevance is impossible to ignore.
March 14, 2022 | Rating: 2.5/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
Bowling for Columbine isn’t a subtle film; instead, it makes its case with Magnum force.
August 10, 2021 | Rating: 3.5/4
Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
The shots of desolate, devastated neighborhoods in Flint, once a center of automobile production, are among the most effective in the film.
February 16, 2021
David Walsh
World Socialist Web Site
An extremely effective, if not rambling film that asks the question “Are we (America) a nation of gun nuts, or are we just nuts?”
January 31, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Richard Crouse
Richard Crouse
Though Moore’s style and biases have often been called into question, Bowling for Columbine diagnosed America’s gun problem…
June 22, 2020
Rocco T. Thompson
Screen Rant
The most striking thing about Michael Moore’s 2002 documentary, Bowling for Columbine, is how painfully relevant it still is.
June 3, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4
Mattie Lucas
From the Front Row…
Plot
The United States of America is notorious for its astronomical number of people killed by firearms for a developed nation without a civil war. With his signature sense of angry humor, activist filmmaker Michael Moore sets out to explore the roots of this bloodshed. In doing so, he learns that the conventional answers of easy availability of guns, violent national history, violent entertainment and even poverty are inadequate to explain this violence when other cultures share those same factors without the equivalent carnage. In order to arrive at a possible explanation, Michael Moore takes on a deeper examination of America’s culture of fear, bigotry and violence in a nation with widespread gun ownership. Furthermore, he seeks to investigate and confront the powerful elite political and corporate interests fanning this culture for their own unscrupulous gain.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels doesn’t provide any goofy or funny comments about Bowling for Columbine.
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