Do the Right Thing
Sal, a Brooklyn pizzeria owner determined to keep his beloved neighborhood united, must confront escalating racial tensions that threaten to erupt into violence on the hottest day of summer.
“It's the hottest day of the summer. You can do nothing, you can do something, or you can...”
Synopsis
Sal is the Italian owner of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. A neighborhood local, Buggin’ is a regular customer.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 195+ 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 Barry Alexander BrownShot by Paula ReumerScored by Bill LeeDesigned by Wynn ThomasSound by Tom FleischmanCostumes by Karen PerryStunts by Chantal Collins
Box Office
1989 · Box office
💰 Box-office hit — grossed 5.7× 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
$37.3M
US & Canada: $27.5M — 74% of worldwide · International: $9.8M (26%)
Opening weekend: $3.6M — 13% of its US run. It had legs — it kept earning long after opening weekend.
Opening week (7-day): $5.9M — 22% of its US & Canada run.
Peak 353 theaters
Also known as
- Fa' la cosa giustait
- (Bulgarian)Постъпи както трябва
Release dates around the world4 countries · showhide
- FranceMay 19, 1989
- United KingdomJun 23, 1989
- CanadaJun 30, 1989
- United StatesJun 30, 1989
Companies
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Cast & Crew
195 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Supporting cast
37Miguel Sandoval
as Officer Ponte
Rick Aiello
as Officer Long
John Savage
as Clifton
Samuel L Jackson
as Mister Señor Love Daddy
Rosie Perez
as Tina
Roger Guenveur Smith
as Smiley
Steve White
as Ahmad
Martin Lawrence
as Cee
Leonard L Thomas
as Punchy
Christa Rivers
as Ella
Frank Vincent
as Charlie
Luis Antonio Ramos
as Stevie
Richard Habersham
as Eddie
Gwen Mcgee
as Louise
Steve Park
as Sonny
Ginny Yang
as Kim
Sherwin Park
as Korean Child
Shawn Elliott
as Puerto Rican Icee Man
Diva Osorio
as Carmen
Chris Delaney
as Stevie's Friends
Angel Ramirez Jr
as Stevie's Friends
Sixto Ramos
as Stevie's Friends
Nelson Vasquez
as Stevie's Friends
Travell Lee Toulson
as Hector
Joel Nagle
as Sergeant
David E Weinberg
as Plainclothes Detective
Yattee Brown
as Double Dutch Girl
Mecca Brunson
as Double Dutch Girl
Shawn Stainback
as Double Dutch Girl
Soquana Wallace
as Double Dutch Girl
Erik Dellums
as Customer in Pizzeria
Leland Hardy
as Riot Starter
Garry Pastore
as P.O. Bonamo
Eric Payne
as Guy in Riot
John Michael Quinn
as Policeman
Michael Ralph
as Guy by Water Hydrant
Nicholas Turturro
as Policeman
Directors
1Writers
2Producers
3Other crew
145Bob Gorelick
additional assistant camera
Erich Augenstein
additional grip
John Archibald
additional grip
Donald Bialer
additional grip (as Donald Bailer)
Marianna Najjar
additional makeup artist
Leander T Sales
apprentice editor (as Leander Sales)
Nzingha Clarke
apprentice sound editor
William Docker
apprentice sound editor
Ruth E Carter
as Ruth Carter
Dennis Bradford
assistant art director
Eric Oden
assistant auditor
Karen Perry
assistant costume designer
Parents Guide
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