Barton Fink
A struggling Broadway playwright heads to Hollywood to pen his first screenplay, only to battle crippling writer’s block and a bizarre, noise‑making neighbor as he races against studio pressure to deliver a hit film.
“There's only one thing stranger than what's going on inside his head... What's going on outside.”
Synopsis
A prominent New York playwright is drawn to California to work in the film industry and uncovers the harsh realities of Hollywood.
Credits
Related titles
No curated related titles yet. Use the edit affordance to add "More from this director", "Same franchise", or "Adaptation source material" entries — every change goes through the wiki review queue.
How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 249+ 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 Ethan CoenShot by Roger DeakinsScored by Carter BurwellDesigned by Dennis GassnerSound by Allan ByerCostumes by Richard HornungStunts by Gary Jensen
Box Office
1991 · Box office
📉 Underperformed — grossed 0.7× 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
$6.2M
Opening weekend: $269K — 4% of its US run. It had legs — it kept earning long after opening weekend.
Opening week (7-day): $541K — 9% of its US & Canada run.
Peak 11 theaters
Full synopsis
Also known as
- (Bulgarian)Бартън Финк
Release dates around the world4 countries · showhide
- FranceMay 18, 1991
- United KingdomAug 1, 1991
- United StatesAug 8, 1991
- BelgiumSep 19, 1991
Production & Distribution
Community tags
Be the first to tag this page — tags appear right away. Try a theme, capability, or subject (e.g. WWII, heist, slow burn, time travel, A24).
Cast & Crew
249 unique people credited
Top billed cast
John Turturro
as Barton Fink
John Goodman
as Charlie Meadows
Judy Davis
as Audrey Taylor
Judy Davis Nm0001114
as Audrey Taylor
Michael Lerner
as Jack Lipnick
Michael Lerner Nm0503627
as Jack Lipnick
John Mahoney
as W.P. Mayhew
Tony Shalhoub
as Ben Geisler
Jon Polito
as Lou Breeze
Steve Buscemi
as Chet
David Warrilow
as Garland Stanford
Richard Portnow
as Detective Mastrionotti
Supporting cast
24Christopher Murney
as Detective Deutsch
I M Hobson
as Derek
Meagen Fay
as Poppy Carnahan
Lance Davis
as Richard St. Claire
Harry Bugin
as Pete
Anthony Gordon
as Maitre D
Jack Denbo
as Stagehand
Max Grodenchik
as Clapper Boy
Robert Beecher
as Referee
Darwyn Swalve
as Wrestler
Gayle Vance
as Geisler's Secretary
Johnny Judkins
as Sailor
Jana Marie Hupp
as USO Girl
Isabelle Townsend
as Beauty
William Preston Robertson
as Voice
Mamie Jean Calvert
as Background
Joe James
as Mailman
William H Macy
as Navy Sailor
Frances Mcdormand
as Stage Actress
Bubba Dean Rambo
as Banquet Dancer
Barry Sonnenfeld
as Page Calling for Barton Fink
Vincent Tumeo
as Dancer
Rob Wegner
as Police Officer
Linda Wood
as Secretary To Head Of Movie Studio
Directors
1Writers
3Producers
7Other crew
207Robert C Goldstein
(as Bob Goldstein), as Bob Goldstein
Gary Chester
additional music engineer
Scott Ansell
additional music engineer
Gail Showalter
adr editor
Missy Cohen
apprentice sound editor
Leslie Mcdonald
Art Directors
Scott Plauche
assistant art director
Genevieve Duraire
assistant auditor
Robin Melhuish
assistant camera: "b" camera (uncredited)
Mark Bridges
assistant costume designer
Kimberly Adams Galligan
assistant costume designer (as Kimberly Adams)
Claire Gaul
assistant decorator
Parents Guide
AI Personalities
Advisory Bot AI
I keep the family-safety picture honest — community advisories, AI-moderated, summarized without spin.
Ratings & reviews
Official ratings
Members who rated this
1in 1 collection
No member ratings yet — be the first.
We’re attempting to crowdsource this data.
Please submit below if you know where it’s available in your region — accurate confirmations help everyone find what they’re looking for.
Where to watch
Not currently streaming on any platform we track.
Gallery
Add imageNo community images for Barton Fink yet
Add a still, a storyboard, or concept art — every image gets its own page where members can discuss it.
Trailers
No trailers logged for Barton Fink yet — add the first one below.
Spot a trailer we’re missing?
Add a trailer from any film, show, or game.
Media & Uploads
Scripts, set photos, storyboards, score sketches — community-curated reference material for film students and industry professionals.
Did you or a loved one work on Barton Fink?
Every stage matters — pitch decks and treatments from development, location scouts and table-reads from pre-production, set photos and crew anecdotes from production, edit-bay notes from post, and press kits, festival memories, or marketing ephemera from distribution. Any moment that didn't make the press tour, any document or photograph that's been sitting in a box — please share it so it's not lost to time.
We particularly welcome contributions from writers, producers, cast, crew, festival programmers, distributors, marketing teams, their families, and anyone who was there at any stage.
Sign in to contribute scripts, stills, photos, or behind-the-scenes stories.
Be the first to share something on Barton Fink.
Scripts, scans, photos, score sketches — anything that helps another reader study this work.
Memorable quotes
Browse all →No quotes logged for Barton Fink yet — add the first memorable line below.
Got a quote we’re missing?
Submit a line from any film, show, or game.
The conversation
Loading the conversation…
Comments (0)
on Barton FinkNo comments yet. Be the first to share what you think.
Edit history
Loading edit history…