Basquiat
A visionary street artist battles the seductive lure of fame, drugs, and self‑doubt as he strives to transform his raw talent into lasting artistic legacy.
“In 1981, a nineteen-year-old unknown graffiti writer took the New York art world by storm. The rest is art history.”
Synopsis
Jean Michel Basquiat was a world-renowned New York street artist whose life was marked by struggles with fame, drugs, and his identity.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 65+ 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 Michael BerenbaumShot by Ron FortunatoScored by John CaleDesigned by Dan Leigh
Box Office
1996 · Box office
📉 Underperformed — grossed 0.9× 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
$3.0M
US & Canada: $3.0M — 100% of worldwide · International: $11K (0%)
Opening weekend: $84K — 3% of its US run. It had legs — it kept earning long after opening weekend.
Opening week (7-day): $153K — 5% of its US & Canada run.
Peak 6 theaters
Re-release box office
- 20244 theaters
- $47K($49K today)
Domestic gross earned in theatrical re-release, by year · adjusted for inflation
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Cast & Crew
65 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Jeffrey Wright
as Jean Michel Basquiat
Michael Wincott
as Rene Ricard
Benicio Del Toro
as Benny Dalmau
Claire Forlani
as Gina Cardinale
David Bowie
as Andy Warhol
Dennis Hopper
as Bruno Bischofberger
Gary Oldman
as Albert Milo
Christopher Walken
as The Interviewer
Willem Dafoe
as The Electrician
Jean Claude La Marre
as Shenge
Parker Posey
as Mary Boone
Elina Lowensohn
as Annina Nosei
Supporting cast
40Paul Bartel
as Henry Geldzahler
Courtney Love
as Big Pink
Tatum O Neal
as Cynthia Kruger
Chuck Pfeiffer
as Tom Kruger
Rockets Redglare
as Rockets
Esther G Schnabel
as Esther Milo
Jack Schnabel
as Jack Milo
Lola Schnabel
as Jacqueline Milo
Peter Mcgough
as Peter McGough
David Mcdermott
as David McDermott
Michael Chow
as Mr. Chow
Stella Schnabel
as Stella
Steven Randazzo
as Maitre' d at Ballato's
Michael Badalucco
as Counterman at Deli
Francis Dumaurier
as Giorgio
Joseph R Gannascoli
as Guard at Hospital
Hope Clarke
as Matilde
Brian Wright
as Young Jean Michel
Tarmo Urb
as Lech
Denise Burse
as Mary on TV
Robert Alexander
as Band Guy
Vincent Laresca
as Vincent
Nemo Librizzi
as Nemo
Leonard Jackson
as Jean Michel's Father
Dave Shelley
as Photographer
Frederick Weller
as Frank
Rene Rivera
as Juan
Sam Rockwell
as Thug
Ron Brice
as Thug
William Seymour
as Mr. Chow's Maitre' d
Richard E Butler
as Medieval Villager
Joe Glasco
as Medieval Villager
Steven Parenago
as Medieval Villager
Vladamir Parenago
as Medieval Villager
Jose Luis Ferrer
as Medieval Villager
Irene Kiss
as Medieval Villager
Richard The Ox
as Medieval Villager
Toomas Urb
as Chef at Lech's Restaurant (uncredited)
Vincent Gallo
as Party Guest (uncredited)
Linda Larkin
as Fan (uncredited)
Directors
1Writers
4Producers
3Other crew
9Parents Guide
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Where to watch
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