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Poster for American History X
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American History X (1998) Original Trailer [HD]

American History X(1998)
Released
1998 · FILM

American History X

A troubled teen must confront his neo-Nazi brother and the history teacher who once tried to save him, as he uncovers the dangerous roots of hate and the cost of redemption in 1990s Los Angeles.

“Some legacies must end.”

Directed by
Tony Kaye, Mark Cotone
Written by
David Mckenna
Rated
MPA · R
Runtime
119 min
CrimeDrama
Streaming on
  • Paramount+

Synopsis

Derek Vineyard is released on parole after serving three years in prison for the murder of two African-American men. Through the narration of his brother, Danny Vineyard, it is revealed that prior to his incarceration, Derek was a skinhead and the leader of a violent white supremacist gang responsible for numerous racially motivated crimes across Los Angeles. These actions had a significant impact on Danny. Upon his release, Derek disavows his former gang and is committed to preventing Danny from following the same violent trajectory.

Credits

Actors
Editor
Production Designer
Director of Photography
Writers
Directors

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How many hands made this film

The scale of the collaboration

A crew of 331+ credited

Why a floor?

This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.

Craft leads on file

Edited by Gerald B GreenbergShot by Tony KayeScored by Anne DudleyDesigned by Jon Gary SteeleSound by Joe BarnettCostumes by Doug HallStunts by Ernie F Orsatti

Box Office

1998 · Box office

⚖️ Fell short of break-even — grossed 1.2× its budget

Why 2.5×?

Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).

Worldwide gross

$23.9M

Budget$20.0M
Worldwide gross$23.9M
break-even (2.5×)

US & Canada: $6.7M — 28% of worldwide · International: $17.2M (72%)

Opening weekend: $156K — 2% of its US run. It had legs — it kept earning long after opening weekend.

Peak 17 theaters

Full synopsis

Versions & cuts

  • workprint· 101 min
Release dates around the world4 countries · show
  • CanadaJul 1, 1998
  • United StatesOct 30, 1998
  • GreeceDec 18, 1998
  • JapanDec 29, 1998

Production & Distribution

Production companies
New Line CinemaThe Turman-Morrissey Company

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