The Queen of Versailles (2012)
85%RT Audience Score: 73%
Awards & Nominations: 8 wins & 27 nominations
The Queen of Versailles is a timely, engaging, and richly drawn portrait of the American Dream improbably composed of equal parts compassion and schadenfreude
The Queen of Versailles is a wild ride that will have you feeling all sorts of emotions. From jealousy to sympathy to schadenfreude, this documentary has it all. It’s like reality TV, but better. You’ll be rooting for Jackie Siegel one minute and shaking your head at her the next. And let’s not forget about the Marxist punchline and excessive side of the American dream. It’s a cautionary tale that’s both entertaining and thought-provoking. So, grab some popcorn and settle in for a wild ride.
Production Company(ies)
Universal Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, U-Drive Productions,
Distributor
Magnolia Pictures
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for thematic elements and language
Year of Release
2014
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English, French
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jul 20, 2012 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 13, 2012
Genre(s)
Documentary
Keyword(s)
documentary, The Queen of Versailles, PG, 2012, 1h 40m, directed by Lauren Greenfield, written by Lauren Greenfield, produced by Danielle Renfrew Behrens and Lauren Greenfield, starring Jaqueline Siegel, Lorraine Barrett, reviewed by Gretchen Sisson, Noah Berlatsky, Charlotte O’Sullivan, Tara Brady, Steve Rose, Antonia Quirke, Robin Holabird, Matt Warren, Andy Dehnart, Debbie Lynn Elias, Nicholas Bell, genre, box office performance, budget, producer names, MPAA rating, American Dream, economic crisis, Florida billionaires, building a 90,000 square-foot estate, thematic elements, language, English, release date, theaters, streaming, gross USA, cast and crew
Worldwide gross: $2,495,706
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $3,119,002
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,307
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 340,131
US/Canada gross: $2,401,999
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $3,001,892
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,938
US/Canada opening weekend: $51,326
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $64,145
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,114
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $1,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $1,249,747
Production budget ranking: 2,076
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $672,989
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $1,196,266
ROI to date (est.): 62%
ROI ranking: 1,090
Jaqueline Siegel – Herself (as Jackie Siegel)
Lauren Greenfield – Director, Screenwriter, Producer
Danielle Renfrew Behrens – Producer
Director(s)
Lauren Greenfield
Writer(s)
Lauren Greenfield
Producer(s)
Danielle Renfrew Behrens, Lauren Greenfield
Film Festivals
Sundance
Awards & Nominations
8 wins & 27 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (120) | Top Critics (45) | Fresh (114) | Rotten (6)
[Jackie’s] story can show the ways in which the economic crisis can bring out not only the hierarchical differences that divide us, but the hopes and flaws that unite us.
January 11, 2021
Gretchen Sisson
Bitch Media
TOP CRITIC
The Siegels are fascinating because they both are and aren’t us, and the film’s pleasures are correspondingly-a la reality tv-made up of equal parts jealousy, sympathy, and schadenfreude.
August 28, 2019
Noah Berlatsky
The Atlantic
TOP CRITIC
[Siegel] is now suing Greenfield for “misrepresentation”. Well, I know whose side I’m on.
September 7, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
Charlotte O’Sullivan
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
Greenfield’s film is bathed in Florida sunshine, adding to the sensation that we’re watching Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with a Marxist punchline.
September 6, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
Tara Brady
Irish Times
TOP CRITIC
Never has grotesque wealth looked so unenviable, or its removal been so entertaining, as in this garishly watchable riches-to-rags documentary …
September 6, 2012 | Rating: 4/5
Steve Rose
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
[Siegel] ultimately emerges as someone who belongs more in The Little House on the Prairie: ever cheerful, and triumphantly unimpeachable.
September 6, 2012 | Rating: 3/5
Antonia Quirke
Financial Times
TOP CRITIC
Filmmaker Lauren Greenfield effectively captures an excessive side of the American dream, which includes ventures in Las Vegas.
August 11, 2021
Robin Holabird
Robin Holabird
The Queen of Versailles is one of the best films of the year, nonfiction or otherwise.
March 10, 2021
Matt Warren
Battleship Pretension
The Queen of Versailles is an exceptional, must-watch film that’s better reality TV than most reality television. We need more documentaries-and more reality television-like this.
March 6, 2020
Andy Dehnart
Reality Blurred
Even if you’re on a budget, it will be money well spent to see this Must See Festival Film.
November 26, 2019
Debbie Lynn Elias
Behind The Lens
The Queen of Versailles is a deliriously enjoyable documentary, a warning about the ridiculous hubris of the American Dream, and how, like the trap of traditions, may very well be a nightmare.
July 25, 2019
Nicholas Bell
IONCINEMA.com
It’s this turn of events that transforms The Queen of Versailles into a surprisingly empathetic look at Jackie Siegel as everything around her begins to crumble.
July 3, 2019 | Rating: 7.3/10
C.J. Prince
Way Too Indie…
Plot
The Queen of Versailles follows the story of Florida billionaires David and Jackie Siegel as they struggle to maintain their fortune during the 2008 global economic crisis while building a 90,000 square-foot estate.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The documentary features Jackie Siegel, the wife of timeshare mogul David Siegel, as one of its main subjects.
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