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Released
2009 · FILM

Case 39

A seasoned social worker races to protect a tormented five‑year‑old from her abusive parents, only to discover the child is harboring a malevolent supernatural force that threatens everyone around them.

“Some cases should never be opened.”

Directed by
Christian Alvart, Patrice Leung
Written by
Ray Wright, Robert Consing
Rated
MPA · R
Runtime
109 min
HorrorMysteryThriller

Synopsis

Emily Jenkins, a seasoned social worker, believes she has encountered every challenge the profession can offer—until she meets 10-year-old Lilith and her abusive parents. When the parents attempt to harm the child, Emily's worst fears are realized, prompting her to take temporary custody of Lilith while seeking a suitable foster family. However, as Emily grows more involved in the girl's life, she begins to uncover dark forces tied to Lilith. The more she tries to protect the child, the more disturbing events unfold around her.

Credits

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Director of Photography
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How many hands made this film

The scale of the collaboration

A crew of 544+ 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 Mark GoldblattShot by Hagen BogdanskiScored by Michl BritschDesigned by John WillettSound by Darren BriskerCostumes by Monique PrudhommeStunts by Marny EngVFX by Shauna Bryan

Box Office

2009 · Box office

⚖️ Fell short of break-even — grossed 1.1× 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

$29.0M

Budget$27.0M
Worldwide gross$29.0M
break-even (2.5×)

US & Canada: $13.3M — 46% of worldwide · International: $15.7M (54%)

Also known as

  • Fall 39de
  • Le Cas 39fr

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