Whale Rider backdrop
Whale Rider movie poster

Whale RiderFollow

2003 • PG-13 • 1h 41m • Drama, Family • Newmarket Films

In the ways of the ancients she found a hope for the future.

🍅 91% 88% MC 80 LB 3.74 IMDb 7.5

Box office summary

Opening weekend
$137K
Limited · 9 theaters
Domestic total
$20.80M
Final
Worldwide total
$39.40M
$18.60M international
Domestic legs15.3x from $1.4M biggest weekend
Budget$4.3M
Compare with other movies

Cast & crew

Full Caro filmography
Niki Caro Niki Caro Director Cliff Curtis Cliff Curtis Starring Rachel House Rachel House Starring
ScreenplayNiki Caro Produced byTim Sanders, Frank Hübner, John Barnett CinematographyLeon Narbey MusicLisa Gerrard Prod. DesignGrant Major StudioNewmarket Films

The run

WkWeekendRankGrossChgTheatersAvgTotal
1 Jun 6-8 30 $137.4K — 9 $15,269 $137.4K
2 Jun 13-15 27 $161.0K +17.2% 11 $14,637 $356.7K
3 Jun 20-22 15 $602.3K +274.1% 78 $7,722 $1.0M
4 Jun 27-29 14 $977.8K +62.3% 163 $5,999 $2.3M
5 Jul 4-6 13 $1.2M +27.0% 209 $5,943 $4.1M
6 Jul 11-13 14 $1.1M −12.3% 271 $4,020 $5.8M
7 Jul 18-20 15 $1.4M +24.5% 442 $3,069 $7.7M
8 Jul 25-27 14 $1.1M −20.0% 491 $2,210 $9.6M
9 Aug 1-3 15 $1.1M +1.9% 473 $2,337 $11.3M
10 Aug 8-10 13 $928.3K −16.0% 434 $2,139 $12.8M
11 Aug 15-17 17 $717.7K −22.7% 348 $2,062 $14.0M
12 Aug 22-24 21 $612.5K −14.7% 338 $1,812 $15.0M
13 Aug 29-Sep 1 17 $1.1M +79.5% 503 $2,186 $16.9M
14 Sep 5-7 18 $893.4K −18.8% 556 $1,607 $18.1M
15 Sep 12-14 20 $632.2K −29.2% 492 $1,285 $19.1M
16 Sep 19-21 24 $390.7K −38.2% 341 $1,146 $19.7M
17 Sep 26-28 30 $209.6K −46.4% 237 $884 $20.1M
18 Oct 3-5 32 $158.4K −24.4% 195 $812 $20.3M
19 Oct 10-12 33 $105.3K −33.5% 160 $658 $20.5M
20 Oct 17-19 40 $60.9K −42.2% 130 $468 $20.6M
21 Oct 24-26 44 $40.4K −33.7% 96 $421 $20.7M
22 Oct 31-Nov 2 67 $21.1K −47.7% 61 $346 $20.7M
23 Nov 7-9 57 $14.1K −33.5% 45 $312 $20.7M
24 Nov 14-16 74 $13.3K −5.2% 36 $370 $20.8M
25 Nov 21-23 88 $7.5K −43.8% 14 $534 $20.8M
Charts show the first 10 weeks · the run above is the full record
Weekend grossWk 10 · $928.3K
$137.4K
$161.0K
$602.3K
$977.8K
$1.2M
$1.1M
$1.4M
$1.1M
$1.1M
$928.3K
W1W2W3W4W5W6W7W8W9W10
Weekend-over-weekend dropWk 10 · −16.0%
+17.2%
W1→2
+274.1%
W2→3
+62.3%
W3→4
+27.0%
W4→5
−12.3%
W5→6
+24.5%
W6→7
−20.0%
W7→8
+1.9%
W8→9
−16.0%
W9→10
Steepest −20.0%Biggest gain +274.1%

Profitability

Return on Budget
Theatrical breakeven point is approx. 2.5x production budget

Domestic vs International Split

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