The Pursuit of Happyness

"For his son, one man will reach for the impossible."

2006 1h 57m EN

🙌

7.9

BANGER

🍅

67%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

IMDB

★7.9TMDB · 10,905🍅67%Rotten Tomatoes●64Metacritic★8IMDB · 614,482

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career.

“For his son, one man will reach for the impossible.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Will Smith
Chris Gardner
Jaden Smith
Christopher
Thandiwe Newton
Linda
Brian Howe
Jay Twistle
James Karen
Martin Frohm
Dan Castellaneta
Alan Frakesh
Kurt Fuller
Walter Ribbon
Takayo Fischer
Mrs. Chu

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Gabriele Muccino
Writers: Steven Conrad
Languages: English, Cantonese
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $55M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 5.6× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 20 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Cantonese.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Gabriele Muccino, shot by Phedon Papamichael. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Andrea Guerra. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Hughes Winborne shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Will Smith and Jaden Smith and Thandiwe Newton carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Gabriele Muccino directs. Phedon Papamichael behind the camera. Andrea Guerra scores. Hughes Winborne cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Cantonese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $55M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Made its money back 5.6× over at the box office.
3Released 20 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Cantonese.
5Directed by Gabriele Muccino, shot by Phedon Papamichael. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Andrea Guerra. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Hughes Winborne shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Will Smith and Jaden Smith and Thandiwe Newton carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "For his son, one man will reach for the impossible.".
10IMDB entry: tt0454921 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
1110,905 TMDB user ratings logged — serious cultural footprint.
12Classified under 19 themes, including "work", "worker", "homeless person", "single parent".
13Released under 14 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Phedon Papamichael
Original score: Andrea Guerra
Editing: Hughes Winborne
Production design: J. Michael Riva
Costume design: Sharen Davis
Makeup / hair: Melanie Hughes
Stunt coordinator: Thomas Robinson Harper
Runtime: 117 min · 1h 57m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $55,000,000
Box office: $307,077,295
Return: 558% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
Rotten Tomatoes: 67% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 64/100
IMDB rating: 8/10 · 614,482 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

Nominated for 1 Oscar. 12 wins & 26 nominations total

Also by

Gabriele Muccino

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2026-07-24
★ 7/10
Chris Gardner (Will Smith) is a dedicated family man who lives with his constantly double-shifting wife Linda (Tandiwe Newton) and their curious young son Christopher (Jaden Smith) but they are always in debt. He makes a living selling portable bone density scanners - that look a little like cat boxes - and they aren't exactly flying out the door. Then he espies Jay (Brian Howe) parking his bright red sports car and asks just how he got it. He's a stockbroker, is the reply, and anyone can do it if you've the gift of the gab and an head for figures. He declares to Linda that this is now his goal. She packs her stuff and takes their son elsewhere - he hasn't an hope in hell of becoming a stockbroker! Well initially that would appear to be true, but now taking the young lad to live with him and sleeping in a combination of homeless hostels and very cheap hotels he sets about ingratiating himself with Jay. His solving of a troublesome Rubik's Cube puzzle might just have helped as he is given an opportunity to join a salary-free internship at his company - but aside from the nine-to-five grind in his suit, he is still having to sell his machine to make some cash and keep some sort of roof over his and his son's head. What this man certainly has is confidence. He hasn't a clue about what he is selling, but his mix of determination, amiability and preparedness to take risks might just impress his bosses enough for them to actually pay him? No, there's not really very much jeopardy here and the conclusion, when it comes, is all a bit to predictable - but along the way Smith demonstrates his ability to portray quite a flawed, but thoroughly decent, character effectively. The scene stealer is, of course, the younger version whose joke about god, the drowning fisherman and the boats is delivered in an engagingly dead-pan fashion that rather sums up the efforts of this young actor and the importance of his character in keeping his father motivated and, quite possibly, sane too. This also offers us quite a poignant critique on the disparities of life in a city where great wealth sits only streets away from livings much more abject and by mixing examples of human kindness with equally human venality, the Smiths present something that's entertaining to watch and just a little thought-provoking, too.

Production companies