Cinderella Man

"One man's extraordinary fight to save the family he loved."

2005 2h 24m EN

🙌

7.6

BANGER

🍅

80%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

IMDB

★7.6TMDB · 2,508🍅80%Rotten Tomatoes●69Metacritic★8IMDB · 207,429

RomanceDramaHistory

Synopsis

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The true story of boxer Jim Braddock who, following his retirement in the 1930s, makes a surprise comeback in order to lift his family out of poverty.

“One man's extraordinary fight to save the family he loved.”

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Cast

Russell Crowe
Jim Braddock
Renée Zellweger
Mae Braddock
Paul Giamatti
Joe Gould
Craig Bierko
Max Baer
Paddy Considine
Mike Wilson
Bruce McGill
Jimmy Johnston
David Huband
Ford Bond
Connor Price
Jay Braddock

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Ron Howard
Writers: Akiva Goldsman, Cliff Hollingsworth, Cliff Hollingsworth
Languages: English
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 $88M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 21 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Ron Howard, shot by Salvatore Totino. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Russell Crowe and Renée Zellweger and Paul Giamatti carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "One man's extraordinary fight to save the family he loved.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0352248 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Ron Howard directs. Salvatore Totino behind the camera. Thomas Newman scores. Daniel P. Hanley cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $88M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Released 21 years ago.
3Directed by Ron Howard, shot by Salvatore Totino. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Thomas Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Daniel P. Hanley shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Russell Crowe and Renée Zellweger and Paul Giamatti carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "One man's extraordinary fight to save the family he loved.".
8IMDB entry: tt0352248 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 16 themes, including "daughter", "transporter", "sports", "irish-american".
10Released under 18 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Salvatore Totino
Original score: Thomas Newman
Editing: Daniel P. Hanley
Production design: Wynn Thomas
Costume design: Daniel Orlandi
Makeup / hair: Hazel Gordon
Sound: Tony Volante
Stunt coordinator: Steve Lucescu
Runtime: 144 min · 2h 24m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $88,000,000
Box office: $108,539,911
Return: 123% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Cinderella Man (2005)
Rotten Tomatoes: 80% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 69/100
IMDB rating: 8/10 · 207,429 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

Nominated for 3 Oscars. 16 wins & 45 nominations total

Also by

Ron Howard

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Andres Gomez2016-03-21
★ 7/10
The stereotypical sports movie about a character which goes from glory to hell and back to the glory again. The story is OK, but nothing new. Crowe performs well, but it is not one of his best movies. Giamatti is great, as always but Zellwegger is too cheesy in her role. Just an entertaining movie without any more intentions.
Peter McGinn2021-05-21
★ 7/10
This is a fine boxing movie, one that relies more on the fighter’s personal story than endless scenes of boxing brutality. James Braddock’s final rise to the championship was an inspirational example during the lull in between the headline-grabbing reigns of Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis, when the heavyweight title changed hands several times. My only complaint with Ron Howard’s film was its portrayal of Max Baer, the champion Braddock defeated to win the title. For dramatic purposes, they changed his personality and made him into a bullying, vicious person, to the point of making a crude comment about Braddock’s wife. They needed a bad guy so they made one. I became interested in Max Baer when I was a teen and read a lot about him over the decades. He was fierce when he meant business in the ring, but mostly he was happy go liucky and didn’t love the fight game. As a side note, Max Baer’s son was also upset at seeing this man he didn’t recognize as his father (this was Max Baer Jr., Jethro Bodean from the Beverly Hillbillies). But what can you do — making changes is standard procedure for movies based on real events. They are often still worth watching. Just don’t use them for research for a school project, right?
CinemaSerf2025-02-21
★ 7/10
Once Jim Braddock (Russell Crowe) breaks his hand in a fight, he discovers that his previously reasonably successful life in the ring has come to an end - and that puts him, wife “Mae” (Renée Zellweger) and their kids on skid row. He’s gone from making $8,000 from a fight to ferreting around the docks looking for work and taking state welfare funds so they can keep their children in their now electricity-free apartment. Then serendipity takes an hand as his former manager Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti) arranges a last-minute fight for him that might garner a meagre $250. It’s not a fight he’s expected to fare well in, but against the odds he triumphs and that enables Gould to engage with his former backer Jimmy Johnston (Bruce McGill) and that could, ultimately, lead to a world title tight fight against Max Baer (Craig Bierko). It’s a pretty savage indictment of urban American life in the 1930s and it also serves well at illustrating just how boxing so often proved the most appealing and available conduit for many an uneducated man to escape the poverty trap that would embrace not just him but his family, too. As to Braddock, his story also involves his close friend “Mike” (Paddy Considine) who embarks on a similar career path, only he has neither the skill nor the sense to make it work. For that, Braddock is especially fortunate to have Gould in his corner, a man who is less venal than many who would hire and fire at the drop of an hat. It’s the boxing action that really works well here, though, with Crowe putting heart and soul into a character that is designed to demonstrate fortitude and determination, sure, but also humanity and humility too. Giamatti steals the scenes, but Zellweger also contributes well as Ron Howard presents us with a poignant, violent and plausible story of a man motivated by family and friends who epitomised his own version of the pioneering spirit.