Can't Buy Me Love
Nerdy teen Ronald pays popular cheerleader Cindy to pose as his girlfriend for a month so he can finally break into the high‑school elite, but as their ruse sparks real feelings and alienates his old friends, he must decide whether the price of popularity is worth losing himself.
“Ronald is making an investment in his senior year. He's hiring the prettiest cheerleader in school to be his girlfriend.”
Synopsis
Ronald Miller, a nerdy high school student, helps cheerleader Cindy Mancini avoid punishment from her mother after Cindy accidentally ruins a $1,000 designer outfit. Ronald offers to pay for the damage on the condition that Cindy pretend to be his girlfriend for a month. As the weeks go by, Cindy begins to develop genuine feelings for Ronald, which unexpectedly boosts his social standing at school. However, when Ronald's former best friend is excluded from his new social circle, he begins to question whether popularity is truly worth the cost.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 47+ 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 Jeff GoursonShot by Peter Lyons CollisterScored by Robert FolkDesigned by Donald Lee Harris
Box Office
1987 · Box office
💰 Box-office hit — grossed 18× 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
$31.6M
Opening weekend: $4.8M — 15% of its US run. It had legs — it kept earning long after opening weekend.
Opening week (7-day): $8.2M — 26% of its US & Canada run.
Peak 1,256 theaters
Also known as
- L'amour ne s'achète pasfr
- Playboy in provait
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Cast & Crew
47 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Cloyce Morrow
as Judy Miller
Seth Green
as Chuckie Miller
Sharon Farrell
as Mrs. Mancini
Darcy Demoss
as Patty
Dennis Dugan
as David Miller
Patrick Dempsey
as Ronald Miller
Amanda Peterson
as Cindy Mancini
Courtney Gains
as Kenneth Wurman
Tina Caspary
as Barbara
Devin Devasquez
as Iris
Eric Bruskotter
as Big John
Gerardo Mejia
as Ricky
Supporting cast
27Cort Mccown
as Quint
Steve Franken
as Moda Clerk
Ami Dolenz
as Fran
Max Perlich
as Lester
David Schermerhorn
as Albert
Phillip Simms
as Rock
Tudor Sherrard
as Brent
George Gray
as Bobby Hilton
Jimmie Lee Mitchell
as Mr. Webbly
Jan O Dell
as Mrs. Hagmer
James Gooden
as Mr. Wurman
Erin O Flaherty
as Jr. Wurman
Ty Gray
as Duane
Will Hannah
as Camera Salesman
Todd Walsh
as Stocky Jones
Wayne Chandler
as African Host
Meredith Wagelie
as Freshman #1
Jennifer Nelson
as Freshman #2
Corissa Miller
as Transfer Girl
Lisa Christine Christiansen
as Bambi La Brock
Paula Abdul
as Dancer (uncredited)
Brandi Brandt
as (uncredited)
Anastasia Coon
as Dancer (uncredited)
David Kinn
as Extra (uncredited)
The Lowpriest
as Tucson High Student (uncredited)
Christopher Maleki
as Frat Guy (uncredited)
Shawn Tierney
as High School Student (uncredited)
Directors
1Writers
1Producers
1Other crew
5Parents Guide
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